University of Richmond
Wagner (NIT)
Men's Basketball Defeats Wagner, 74-67 In OT
03/13/2002 | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2002
Click here to listen to Coach Beilein and Tony Dobbins on the postgame radio show
By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer
RICHMOND, Va. - Mike Skrocki scored four straight points to give Richmond the lead late in overtime Wednesday night and the Spiders beat Wagner 74-67 in the first round of the NIT.
Richmond advanced to meet Montana State on Friday night.
The Spiders (20-13), who trailed by as many as 11 in the second half, were 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the extra period, with Skrocki's two with 1:36 left giving them a 68-67 lead they never relinquished.
After Chris Jackson was called for goaltending with 1:08 remaining for Wagner (19-10), Skrocki scored on a driving bank shot with 48 seconds to play and Reggie Brown added four late points to seal the victory.
Brown led Richmond with 19 points and Skrocki had 17 on a night when Scott Ungerer and Jeff Myers fouled out for Richmond. Myers had eight points in the Spiders' second-half rally, and Ungerer is the team leader.
Wagner also lost its key player when scoring leader Jermaine Hall fouled out with 3:35 to play in overtime. Hall had 19 points, repeatedly hurting Richmond inside, and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jackson had 14 points.
Wagner took a 61-59 lead with 55.9 seconds left on two free throws by Courtney Pritchard, his first points since the opening minutes, but Tony Dobbins' tip-in with 38.5 seconds left tied it again. It was the third tie in the final 4:20, and neither team got off another shot in regulation.
The Spiders had started the second half much like they did the first, scoring seven of the first 10 points to expand their halftime lead to 37-32.
But when the Seahawks started coming up with loose balls, Richmond went the next 7:16 without scoring a point as Wagner got 14.
By the time Brown scored on a driving layup with 9:49 to play, Wagner led 46-39 and the Spiders needed a run of their own to get close.
Ungerer made a layup for his only points, and Myers hit two 3-pointers and a
jumper to keep going what became a game-tying 14-5 run. Johnathan Collins'
tip-in with 4:20 left knotted it at 53. Collins, one of four Spiders to play at
least 37 minutes, had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Click here to visit our NIT information page
