University of Richmond
Harvard (Spider Invitational)
Richmond Advances To Spider Invitational Championship
12/28/2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec 28, 2002
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Junior guard Tony Dobbins (Mitchellville, Md.) added 17 points while freshman guard Will Holloman (Jacksonville, Fla.) erupted for 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Center Eric Zwayer (Sebring, Fla.) chipped in 11 points for the Spiders. Harvard was paced by Brady Merchant's 16 points.
The Crimson jumped on the Spiders in the first half, shooting 62.5 percent from the field. The visitors led by 13 points on two occasions. With Harvard holding a 37-24 edge with 4:02 remaining in the half, Richmond closed the half on a 13-3 run. A Dobbins 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds on the clock, his first triple of the season, pulled the Spiders to within three at the break (40-37).
Momentum changed in the second half, however, as Harvard went ice cold from the field, converting just four-of-32 second half shots. Skrocki tied the game at 40-40 with a 3-pointer from the far side with 19:16 remaining and the Spiders took the lead for good less than a minute later on a Zwayer turnaround in the paint.
In the earlier contest, the Spartans played spoiler to last year's Spider Invitational runner-up, the Keydets. Derrick Smith's baseline 3-pointer with 11.1 seconds remaining lifted NSU to the 70-69 victory. Smith netted a season-best 28 points.
VMI led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the Spartans closed the half with a 15-4 spurt to trail by one at the half (31-30). The lead changed six times in the second stanza with the largest advantage by either team, VMI by five, coming at the 6:10 mark. The Keydets looked to be in control after a long triple and converting one of two free throws to lead by two, 69-67, with 22 seconds remaining. That set up Smith's winning talley.
