Richmond was defeated by the St. Bonaventure Bonnies by a score of 69-66 at the Robins Center this evening. The Spiders were led offensively by Blake Francis who finished the night with 21 points in the Richmond defeat. A slow start for both teams in this one, but they found their groove towards the end of the opening frame. At the break, Richmond was shooting 44% (12-27) from the field, compared to Bonaventure’s 45%, including going 4-11 from deep. Free throws were a problem early on in the 1st half, but the Spiders seemed to right the ship, ending the opening frame by going 7-12 in the half. Tyler Burton started off hot by knocking down two early from long range, but he picked up 2 fouls playing 13 minutes in the half, and ended up fouling out.
The Bonnies started the 2nd half on a tear, hitting a few early 3’s. From there, it was a rock fight. The two teams trading the lead back and forth throughout the final half, up until Kyle Lofton hits a 3 with 2.8 to play. With both teams in the bonus down the stretch, free throws were huge in the finish. Richmond shot 14-21 from the charity stripe in this one, telling the tale. Points in the paint were just about dead even with the Bonnies scoring 34 and Spiders with 32. The Spiders finished the night 23-54 from the field and 6-24 from beyond the arc. The Bonnies picked up some offensive rebounds in the late going, where they edged Richmond 38-29 overall. Grant Golden hit 1 of 2 from the line with 15 seconds left tying the game. After Lofton’s bucket, Francis got a decent look considering the inbound was under the Bonnies basket, where the shot was no good.
Up next for the Spiders is a date with the Rhode Island Rams on Wednesday night at the Robins Center. As always, stay up to date on all things Richmond basketball on Twitter at @AustinDaisey11 & @A10Talk. See you Wednesday night Spider Nation!
*featured image via @SpiderMBB
