University of Richmond
Providence
Men's Hoops Drops One To Providence, 84-55
12/19/2002 | Men's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Ryan Gomes scored 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds Thursday night to lead Providence to an 84-55 win over Richmond.
Donnie McGrath chipped in with 15 points and Marcus Douthit added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (4-2).
Providence held the Spiders to 33 percent shooting (18 of 55) and out rebounded them, 48-26.
Jamaal Scott paced Richmond (4-4) with 13 points, and Jeff Myers had 11.
Richmond hit its first six shots from the floor en route to an early 15-8 lead before the Friars took charge, closing the half with a 17-2 run over the final 5:40 to take a 40-25 edge at halftime.
After their initial hot start, the Spiders made just four of their final 22 shots in the first half.
The Friars, playing their first game in 12 days since a loss to intrastate rival Rhode Island on Dec. 7, took advantage of a tired Richmond team. They stepped up their defensive pressure and forced Richmond into tough shots.
Providence opened its lead to 49-33 on Marcus Douthit's short jump hook 5:09 into the second half. Richmond, which missed its first eight shots of the second half, then followed with a quick 8-0 run to close the deficit to 49-41 with 12:04 to play.
The Friars pushed their lead to 62-51 on McGrath's 3-pointer with 7 1/2 minutes to go. Their lead never fell below double digits the rest of the way.
It was Richmond's third game in four days after playing in the Stanford Invitational, where they beat No. 17 Stanford in the consolation game on Tuesday.
