University of Richmond
WILLIAM & MARY
Men's Basketball Holds Off William & Mary, 52-50
12/31/2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond men's basketball team led by as many as nine in the first half, but then had to come-from-behind to take a 52-50 win over William & Mary on Saturday in the Robins Center.
Richmond regained the lead on a baby hook in the lane by junior Monty Sanders with 3:46 remaining and then clung to a one-point, 49-48 edge with under a minute to play. Junior Gaston Moliva took the ball to the basket, missed a contested shot inside, but got his own rebound and put it back to give Richmond a 51-48 lead.
William & Mary's Corey Cofield got a quick lay-up at the other end to pull the Tribe within one again with 15 seconds left, but senior Jermaine Bucknor made 1-of-2 free throws and Brian Hutt missed a jumper to tie the game at the buzzer.
"We're happy to get a win," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "We played pretty well. I think we showed a lot by playing so well down the stretch."
Red-shirt freshman Jarhon Giddings and Bucknor each hit three first-half 3-pointers as Richmond led 30-25 at the break. Giddings scored all of his team-high 11 points in the first half and Bucknor also finished with 11 points. Sanders scored eight points and Moliva finished with seven.
Richmond shot 50-percent from the field in the first half and 50-percent from 3-point land (7-of-14). Richmond led by as many as nine on two occasions, including at 30-21 with 1:48 to play in the half, but William & Mary scored two baskets before the break and then opened the second half with six straight points. That 10-0 run gave William & Mary a 31-30 lead and the Tribe would take a 38-34 advantage with 12:49 remaining on two free throws by Adam Payton.
Sophomore Oumar Sylla broke a long field-goal drought for the Spiders with a steal and a fast-break lay-up to put Richmond up 39-38 with 10:10 to play. William & Mary answered with a jumper by Calvin Baker and an old-fashioned three-point play by Cofield to lead 43-39 with 8:59 left.
That's when the Richmond defense stepped up and held the Tribe to just one field goal and a foul shot for the next eight minutes.
"Defensively we were terrific in the last five minutes," Mooney said. "We did not play great defense the whole game, but that last five to eight minutes it was hard for them to get open shots."
The Spiders got a huge lift when Sanders drove the lane from the left win and made a running baby hook to break a 46-46 tie with 4:16 left. Junior Peter Thomas made 1-of-2 free throws to give Richmond a 49-46 lead with 1:40 left and then the Spiders defense forced a shot clock violation to get the ball back with 1:04 to play.
William & Mary's Payton came up with a steal and dunk to cut the gap to 49-48 with 53 seconds left, but that's when Moliva made his move inside. He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw, however the Spiders had a 51-48 lead.
"I went middle and used a little hook, but I missed it," Moliva said. "I was taller and bigger than the guy defending me so I just went back up and to grab it. I had two guys on me, but I just use my body to make my lay-ups."
William & Mary opted to go for the quick two and then fouled Bucknor. The senior made the first free throw, but missed the second to keep it a two-point lead. Hutt got off a contested jumper that missed as time expired.
Richmond plays its last non-conference game of the season on Monday when the Spiders host Longwood at 4 p.m. in the Robins Center.
