University of Richmond
Elon
Men's Basketball Rises Over Phoenix
11/26/2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Junior center Kevin Steenberge continued his torrid start, scoring a game-high 21 points to lead Richmond past Elon 80-66 in the Spiders' home opener at the Robins Center on Friday night.
Steenberge, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after scoring 30 against Seton Hall on Nov. 19, was 9-for-14 from the floor while gathering six rebounds. The Columbia, Md. native is averaging 25.5 points and 7.0 rebounds after two contests.
Sophomore point guard Daon Merritt also played his second consecutive solid game, chipping in 18 points and dishing a team-high five assists. The Jamaica, N.Y. native is averaging 18.5 points and 6.0 assists this winter.
Steenberge took it to Elon (1-4) from the beginning, scoring two early baskets as the Spiders built a 5-0 lead in the first minute. Elon, who was playing without leading scorer Jackson Atoyebi, used timely shooting to remain close but never led.
A free-throw line jumper by senior Patrick O'Malley with three seconds remaining in the first half gave Richmond (2-0) its largest lead of the first 20 minutes (35-26). O'Malley finished the game with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting, 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
A 7-2 run to start the second half built the Spiders' lead to 14 (42-48) but the Phoenix closed within seven (46-39) on a Montell Watson triple at the 13:08 mark. Watson led Elon with 17 points off the bench.
A 13-6 run was capped by an O'Malley three-pointer at 8:31, giving Richmond a 17-point lead (62-45), equaling the largest margin of the game.
Junior Jermaine Bucknor reached double figures for the second consecutive contest, scoring 12 and adding five rebounds.
The Spiders next travel to Charlottesville to face Virginia at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be televised by Comcast SportsNet in Richmond.
