Richmond defeats Old Dominion

The Richmond Spiders defeated the Monarchs of Old Dominion University 62-59 tonight in Norfolk, VA.  The Spiders were led by Grant Golden who had a great game down low, as well as at the FT line.  Oh yeah, he hit the game winning 3-point shot by the way.  He scored 19 leading Richmond, and hit 4  from the charity stripe in the Richmond victory.  Early perimeter shooting woes for Richmond led ODU hang around longer than they needed to.  The Spiders didn’t hit a 3 until Nick Sherod hit with 4:56 left in the 1st half.

Spiders Move to 10-1

Richmond went 15-19 from the FT line, which is a huge reason for their win tonight. The Spiders had much better energy in the 2nd half, and seemed to get their legs underneath them.  ODU did a good job of limiting Richmond’s looks from 3-point range, so going inside and drawing fouls turned out to be the gameplan.  It wasn’t pretty, but good teams find ways to win ugly games, and that’s exactly what Richmond did tonight.

Spiders Kept their Composure

Despite a game that seemed to be called ODU’s way for a majority of the contest, Richmond rallied behind it instead of letting it defeat them.  This was a key element in their victory tonight, and should look to dump the ball inside more often, even when the 3 is working.  Richmond did a good job of weathering the crowd, as it began to get loud the closer the ballgame got to ending.  Even though Old Dominion was 3-8 coming into tonight’s contest, this was a good road win for the Spiders.

What’s Next?

Richmond will now head to the nation’s capital this Sunday as they will face off against another in-state foe.  They will be playing Radford (3:30/FloHoops) in the DC Holiday Hoops Fest.  Be sure to follow along on Twitter at @AustinDaisey11 & @A10Talk, as well as at www.a10talk.com.  See you Sunday Spider Nation.