Running With The Bulls: Men's Basketball Travels To South Florida
12/10/2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 10, 2003
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Following Tuesday's earthquake that shook Richmond, the Spiders trip to sunny South Florida couldn't come at a better time. The stressful exam week is coming to a close and it is time for basketball again.
Richmond's (4-3) next test comes against the South Florida Bulls (3-2), the second Conference USA member to dot the early-season schedule. Saturday's 8 p.m. contest is the Spiders' only game in a 14-day span. They return to action in Madison Square Garden against Manhattan on Dec. 20.
Senior Mike Skrocki has scored 10+ points in all seven games this year, while Tony Dobbins (four straight) and Daon Merritt (three straight) hope to continue double-digit scoring streaks of their own.
STORYLINES
* The last time Richmond played in the state of Florida was Nov. 24, 1997 -- an 81-50 win at Florida Atlantic. Florida Atlantic returned the trip the next season when Richmond won 76-65 on Dec. 28, 1998 -- the last time the Spiders have played a team from the Sunshine State.
* Senior Eric Zwayer returns home this weekend as he is a native of Sebring, Fla. -- approximately 71 miles from Tampa. Eric and his high school sweetheart, Amy, were married in their hometown this summer. Amy is an elementary school teacher in Richmond.
* Mike Skrocki is three points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career. In 101 games, Skrocki has scored 997 points (9.9 ppg).
* Skrocki has reached double figures in all seven games this winter and leads the team with a 16.6 scoring average.
* Daon Merritt earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week after averaging 12.5 points and 4.0 assists against VCU and Wake Forest. He has scored 11+ in three straight games.
* The Spiders are 62-44 all-time against Conference USA members. Richmond lost at UAB, 83-75, in its first battle against C-USA this winter.
* Richmond is 0-3 on the road; South Florida is 2-0 at home.
GAME NOTES
One Trey Away ... Senior Mike Skrocki is just three points away from crossing a major college basketball milestone as his career points-scored mark stands at 997 after 101 games (9.9 ppg) ... In his last game, Skrocki scored a season-high 21 (at Wake Forest/Dec. 6) to creep within three of becoming the 35th all-time Spider to reach that plateau ... Classmate Reggie Brown is a member of UR's 1,000-point club with 1,167 (22nd all-time) after 101 career games (11.6 ppg) ... Two Spiders have scored more than 2,000 points in their career: John Newman (2,383/19.5 ppg) and Mike Perry (2,145/19.9 ppg).
Long-Range Bomber ... Senior Mike Skrocki leads the team and is seventh in the Atlantic 10 with a 45.2 percentage (19-of-42) from behind the arc ... His 161 career triples ranks fourth all-time ... Skrocki is one shy of Ken Atkinson who is third and 34 short of teammate Reggie Brown in second.
Statsheet Filler ... In his last four games, senior Tony Dobbins is averaging 13.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.5 assists in 36.5 minutes ... While averaging 34.3 minutes per game, Dobbins leads the team in rebounding (8.7 per game), steals (2.4 per game) and free-throw percentage (83.3) after seven games ... He ranks second with 10.6 points per game and 3.4 assists per game.
Rookie Of The Week ... Freshman point guard Daon Merritt earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors after averaging 12.5 points and 4.0 assists in two games this week ... The Jamaica, N.Y. native scored a career-high 14 points against VCU (Dec. 3) and added 11 at Wake Forest (Dec. 6) ... He dished four assists in both contests.
In The Sunshine ... Richmond is 6-6 all-time in the state of Florida ... The Spiders have competed in two regular-season tournaments, the 1974 Tangerine Bowl Tournament and the 1980 Citrus Classic ... In 1974, the Spiders beat Rollins and lost to Central Michigan ... In 1980, Richmond lost to Florida Southern and beat St. Francis (Pa.) ... Richmond in other Florida games: Florida (0-1), Florida Atlantic (1-0), Florida State (1-1), Jacksonville (1-2) and South Florida (1-0).
The First Time We Met ... In the only other meeting between Richmond and South Florida, the Spiders defeated the Bulls, 83-64, on Jan. 2, 1980 at the Tampa State Fairgrounds ... Mike Perry, current head coach at Georgia State, led the Spiders with 22 points and five rebounds ... Perry, who scored 20+ nine times that winter, led the team with a 19.1 scoring average.
Get Your Offense Here ... A majority of the Spider offense can be directly attributed to three sources: senior Mike Skrocki (seven straight double-figure performances), Tony Dobbins (four straight) and Daon Merritt (three straight) ... In addition, Merritt (28), Dobbins (24) and Skrocki (13) rank 1-2-3 in assists.
200 Straight With A Triple ... The Spiders have made at least one three-pointer in 200 consecutive contests ... The last time Richmond failed to make one three pointer came on January 27, 1997 -- a 75-65 win against visiting James Madison.