Spiders In The Big Apple
12/18/2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2003
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - After logging nearly 5,000 miles in the first month of the season, the Richmond Spiders take their traveling show to the bright lights of the Big Apple for a date in one of the most historic sports venues on the planet.
At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Spiders face Manhattan in Madison Square Garden as part of the Dreyfus Classic. Duke and Texas will tip-off the doubleheader at Noon.
Saturday's game will serve as a homecoming for two Spider guards: senior Reggie Brown from Flushing and freshman Daon Merritt from Jamaica.
Richmond returns home to close out 2003 by hosting Providence (Dec. 23) and Hampton (Dec. 29) before traveling to Colorado for a New Year's Eve bash with the Buffaloes.
STORYLINES
* Richmond completes a three-game road trip with Saturday's contest in Madison Square Garden. With almost one-third of the season complete, the Spiders have already traveled approximately 5,436 miles round trip. (six of first nine games on road)
* Senior Mike Skrocki became the 35th all-time Spider to reach the 1,000-point plateau when he scored 21 points at South Florida on Dec. 13. He has led the team in scoring six times and reached double-figure points in all eight games.
* Skrocki was the only Spider to score in double figures against the Bulls. The last time Richmond had only one player in double figures and won was Jan. 31, 2001 -- a 73-70 victory against the Jerry Wainwright-coached UNC-Wilmington Seahawks.
* Saturday's contest will serve as a homecoming for senior Reggie Brown (Flushing, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and freshman Daon Merritt (Jamaica, N.Y./St. Raymond's). Brown last played in Madison Square Garden during the Super 6 competition while Merritt played in the Garden as a youngster.
* Merritt and Manhattan junior Peter Mulligan were both coached in high school by current Spider assistant coach Gary DeCesare at St. Raymond's.
* Richmond freshman Gaston Moliva (Yaounde) and Manhattan freshman Guy Ngarndi both hail from the African country Cameroon.
GAME NOTES
Welcome To The Club ... Current assistant coach Reggie Brown (1,175) welcomed senior Mike Skrocki to the 1,000-point club when the Howell, N.J. native poured in 21 points at South Florida on Dec. 13 ... Needing only three points to reach the milestone, Skrocki drained a triple just 1:13 into the game ... He currently stands in 34th position with 1,018 points, just 13 behind Winiecki.
Streaking Is Good ... Senior Daon Merritt has dished at least four assists in each of the past six games.
A Rare Feat ... In their 70-58 win at South Florida (Dec. 13), the Spiders had only one player score in double figures -- Mike Skrocki 21 ... The last time a Richmond team had only one player score in double figures and won was Jan. 31, 2001 when the Spiders defeated the Jerry Wainwright-coached UNC Wilmington Seahawks, 73-70, in the Robins Center ... Greg Stevenson notched 17 points in the victory.
Tough Isn't Strong Enough ... While the Spiders can boast a No. 16 RPI ranking after eight games, their schedule is littered with five of the top 10 according to collegerpi.com ... Atlantic 10-foe Saint Joseph's is currently No. 4, UAB is No. 6, Wake Forest is No. 8, Kansas is No. 9 and Providence is No. 10 ... This Saturday's opponent, Manhattan, is No. 66.
Homecomings ... It is common practice among college basketball coaches to take their teams to the home region of their players before they graduate ... Reggie Brown (Flushing) and Daon Merritt (Jamaica).
Hot Outside ... Senior Reggie Brown in second.
Statsheet Filler ... In his last five games, senior Tony Dobbins is averaging 12.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.8 steals in 35.0 minutes ... While averaging 33.6 minutes per game, Dobbins leads the team in rebounding (8.9 per game), steals (2.6 per game) and free-throw percentage (80.8) after seven games ... He ranks second with 10.1 points per game and 3.6 assists per game.
Against the MAAC ... Richmond is 17-2 (.895) against teams in the MAAC ... The Spiders have never faced Manhattan, Canisius or St. Peter's, but have are 4-0 vs. Fairfield, 0-1 vs. Iona, 6-0 vs. Loyola, Md., 3-0 vs. Marist, 2-0 vs. Niagara, 1-0 vs. Rider and 1-1 vs. Siena ... The last time Richmond played a team from the MAAC was Dec. 12, 2000 -- a 74-67 victory against Marist in the Robins Center.