Richmond Gets Physical

Fairfax, VA —

The Richmond Spiders defeated the George Mason Patriots today 97-87 at EagleBank Arena.  This was a physical game, that did not start in Richmond’s favor.  The Patriots were taking inside with no problem early in the 1st half, but Richmond settled in.  In the 1st half, the Spiders had 26 points in the paint, while giving up 16 to George Mason. Nick Sherod had quite the afternoon, scoring 13 in the 1st half, including 3 from deep.  This was quite the offensive outburst for Richmond, as they scored 97 today & shot 67% from the field.  Also worth noting, the Spiders went 26-33 from the charity stripe.

Spiders Work Patriots Down Low

Despite hitting 5 3’s, Richmond did an excellent job of getting the ball inside to their big man, Grant Golden.  He finished the day with 25 points & 4 rebounds.  He brought some much needed physicality today for Richmond, which was evident when looking at the box score.  The Spiders finished the day with 46 points in the paint, where at times, they were just bullying the Patriots.  Andre Gustavson finished the day with 8 points and a team high 3 steals.

Nick Sherod’s Resurrection

The Spiders have really benefited from Sherod being able to knock down some 3’s lately.  He finished today’s contest with 19 points, including 3 triples.  With leading scorer, Blake Francis, out for quite some time, the Spiders are going to need him to continue to knock down some triples.  Tyler Burton was also a force today, as he finished with 12 points in the Spider victory.  If the Spiders are primed to make a run in the A-10, they are going to need some solid bench production from everybody in Mooney’s rotation.

Road Ahead

Up next for the Spiders, will be a home date with the La Salle Explorers on 1/22 at the Robins Center, followed by a big one vs Dayton at home on 1/25.  The Spiders will hopefully be 5-1 in the A-10 before their matchup with the Flyers.  This will be a week of Richmond basketball that you don’t want to miss.  Get to the Robins Center and be loud Spider fans!  Be sure to stay up to date on all things Richmond Spider basketball on www.a10talk.com, as well as on Twitter @AustinDaisey11 & @A10Talk.  See you on Wednesday Spider Nation!