University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Minnesota
Men's Basketball Advances To NIT's Third Round With 67-66 Win At Minnesota
03/18/2002 | Men's Basketball
March 18, 2002
Listen to Coach Beilein on the postgame radio show
Listen to Mike Skrocki on the postgame radio show
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Led by sophomore Mike Skrocki's career-high 28 points, the University of Richmond advanced to the National Invitation Tournament's Third Round with a 67-66 win against Minnesota in Williams Arena. The Spiders advance to the NIT's quarterfinal round and will host Syracuse at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
"We made great plays at pressure times," Richmond head coach John Beilein said. "We made key foul shots down the stretch and got some points off transition."
"This ranks up there with the greatest wins at Richmond," Beilein, who coached his 100th win at Richmond tonight, said.
Skrocki hit 9-of-15 shots, including 5-of-8 from three-point range, to account for his career high. Junior Reggie Brown and sophomore Tony Dobbins also scored in double figures, both pouring in 10.
"We just stuck together the whole game," Skrocki said. "It has been the story all season. We keep the game close and try and win at the end."
Tied 29-29 at the break, Richmond used sharp shooting and smart game control to build a nine-point lead in the second half. After Minnesota cut into the lead, Tony Dobbins converted a conventional three-point play off a perfect feed from Skrocki, the Spiders led 60-53 with 1:54 to play.
The home squad would not quit and fought back with a late flurry. Consecutive layps by Rick Rickert and Dusty Rychart brought the Golden Gophers within three, 60-57, with 1:24 to play.
The hero of the night for the Spiders, Mike Skrocki's calmly nailed two free throws with 52 seconds to play and open a five-point lead, 62-57. Minnesota responded with a bucket to close the gap to 62-59.
Richmond brought the ball back down the court where Jeff Myers was fouled. The junior guard drilled two free throws to put the Spiders back on top 64-59 with 22 seconds to play.
After a Kevin Burleson layup, the Spiders' Reggie Brown stepped to the line and made two free throws to extend the lead to 66-61. Rychart responded with a three-pointer with 9.2 seconds to play and cut the advantage to 66-64.
After being fouled immediately, Skrocki stepped to the line needing to make one to increase the lead to three points. He made his second shot and then Minnesota's Kerwin Fleming curiously drove the length of the court and layed it in with just 1.2 seconds to play that cut the lead to one, 67-66. Richmond inbounded the ball the length of the court and the final buzzer sounded, securing Richmond's first-ever win in the second round of the NIT.
Minnesota's Travarus Bennet scored a team-high 20 points.
Ticket Information for Wednesday night's game against Syracuse
Adult tickets are $10. Youth tickets are $5.
All University of Richmond students are admitted free. Tickets go on sale at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19. Call the Spider Ticket Office at (804) 289-8388 to charge by phone.
The game can be heard live in Richmond on WRNL-AM 910 and worldwide on the internet at RichmondSpiders.com. The pregame show will begin at 9pm EST. The contest will also be televised nation-wide on ESPN2.
