Richmond Earns 20th Win

Richmond, VA —

Not as high scoring as their 1st matchup, but Richmond will take it.  The Spiders took down the Patriots of George Mason University by a score of 65-50 at the Robins Center.  Grant Golden stole the show once again, just as he did in Fairfax, as he dropped a game high 21 points and picked up 7 rebounds.  Richmond did an excellent job of shutting down Javon Greene, as he only scored 11 compared to his 39 in January.  This speaks volumes for the coaching staff, as they have done an excellent job when facing a team for the 2nd time this season.

Spiders Back the Patriots Down

Richmond showed early on in this one that they were going to bully down low.  Grant Golden had 8 points in the paint very quickly, and he had a field day when Josh Oduro was on him.  The Spiders finished with 38 points in the paint compared to George Mason’s 26.  Blake Francis made an impact in this one, scoring 14 against a team he did not get to face in the last matchup.  Nick Sherod hit his 1st 3 of the night and finished with 8 points, going 2-6 from the field. The Spiders shot 26-55 as a team, and only went 3-16 from deep.  Andre Gustavson was an absolute spark plug on the court tonight, as he made good cut after good cut.  He finished the night with 9 points over a span of 23 minutes.

Relying on Defense

This marks the the 5th straight contest where the Spiders have not allowed 60 points.  As they are facing a team that they have previously faced, they have done a great job of shutting down the scoring threats.  As stated earlier, Javon Greene scored 39 in the 97-87 Richmond victory, and just 11 tonight.  It is important for Richmond to see that they don’t have to shoot the ball great from deep to win, and tonight just showed that.  As we head down the stretch here, there aren’t many teams that I feel will drop 60 on this Richmond defense.

Road Ahead

The Spiders will head up to New York to take on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Saturday night, eying their 6th straight win. This is yet another game where the Spiders will have to head into a hostile environment, but they should be confident headed north.  As always, be sure to stay up to date with all things Richmond basketball on Twitter at @AustinDaisey11 & @A10Talk.  See you Saturday Spider Nation!