Richmond Start Conference Play Strong

Richmond, Va —

The Richmond Spiders defeated the Saint Joseph’s Hawks 84-52, to improve to 11-3 on the year.  Spiders were led by Blake Francis who contributed 23 points and 3 rebounds in the Richmond victory.  Jacob Gilyard had another solid night, as he scored 13 and tallied 2 steals.  This was a true team effort tonight, and Matt Grace and Jake Wojcik provided some energy off the Spider bench.  Grace was battling for everything, including saving a few balls from going out of bounds.  Jake Wojcik picked up where he left off in Alabama, as he hit 3 three pointers and totaled 14 points.  Richmond ended the 1st half on a 12-0 run and led by 19 at the break.

The Spiders Found their Stroke

Despite not shooting well over the past couple of games, they really found their stride tonight.  They knocked down 8 3-point field goals, including Blake Francis achieving the 1,000 point milestone, as he scored his 23 in the Richmond victory.  The Spiders finished with 3 guys in double figures (Francis, Wojcik, Gilyard).  Richmond also had an excellent night from the charity stripe, knocking down 14-14 in the blowout.

Limiting Ryan Daly

Coming into tonight’s contest, Ryan Daly was leading the Hawks in 4 categories, including scoring where he was at 20.8 ppg.  Early on, the Spiders did a fantastic job of limiting his touches, forcing the ball out of his hands.  As I pointed out in the game preview, the Hawks don’t play well when he is off his game. He picked up a flagrant 1 on his foul on Blake Francis.  He finished the game with just 8 points, and the Hawks didn’t have a single player in double figures.

What’s Next?

Richmond will travel north to take on the Rhode Island Rams for their first road conference contest this Sunday.  Hitting the road always provides a challenge within itself, so it will be important for Richmond to come out ready to play on Sunday.  As always, be sure to stay up to date on all things Richmond basketball right here, as well as on Twitter at @AustinDaisey & @A10Talk.  See you Sunday Spider Nation!!!