Richmond defeats Duquesne

Pittsburgh, PA —

The Richmond Spiders defeated the Duquesne Dukes 73-62, picking up their 24th win in the regular season finale.  Another balanced scoring night for the Spiders made them just about impossible to contain.  They had 4 players finish with 10+ points, with Blake Francis leading the charge with 21 in the victory.  Nathan Cayo was a huge factor in this one, picking up a double-double with 11 points & 11 rebounds.  Jacob Gilyard had quite the stat line tonight, as he registered 6 steals, 10 assists, & 5 points.  This was an overall great team effort, and the Spiders now wait until Friday.

The Stars Have Aligned

It has been no secret.  This Richmond team has struggled shooting outside of the Robins Center this season, but what a time to find their groove.  With Brooklyn on their minds, the Spiders were firing on all cylinders tonight, which could be huge come next week.  On the Spider Scoop Podcast with Noah Goldberg, we have talked for weeks now how Nick Sherod needs to break out of his shooting slump away from RVA.  He did just that tonight, knocking down 3 from deep & finished with 13 points.  Doing this in the last game of the regular season is huge for his confidence, and we can all hope that this will continue at the Barclays Center.  The Spiders dominated in the paint, outscoring the Dukes 40-18 as Grant Golden was a force down low.  He finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, & 8 assists in the Spider victory.

Road Ahead

For the first time all season, we aren’t sure what lies ahead for Richmond.  Once the conference season concludes tomorrow, we will know the Spiders fate in Brooklyn.  One thing that we know for sure is that the Spiders won’t play their 1st game until Friday.  I will be making the trek up to Brooklyn for the tournament, so be sure to follow along on Twitter at @AustinDaisey11 & of course at @A10Talk.  We will see you in the Big Apple, Spider Nation!