University of Richmond
EAST CAROLINA
Men's Basketball Takes East Carolina In OT, 71-67
11/14/2006 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2006
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Spider freshman Dan Geriot knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and freshman Ryan Butler hit the go-ahead trey in overtime as the Richmond men's basketball team won its season opener 71-67 over East Carolina Tuesday night in the Robins Center.
With Richmond trailing 61-58, Geriot knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at 61 apiece with two seconds remaining in regulation. Butler worked his own magic in overtime by hitting a trey at the 1:12 mark to give Richmond the 66-63 lead, an advantage it would never relinquish.
"For us to be able to win a game like this, for us to have the backbone and resolve to win this game, I think is impressive," Spider head coach Chris Mooney said.
Richmond forward Peter Thomas, the lone senior in the starting lineup with four freshmen, led the Spiders with 16 points on six of eight shooting to go along with seven rebounds.
Richmond (1-0) received solid contributions from a wide range of players to pull out the narrow win against the visiting Pirates (1-1).
Spider freshman guard Brian Morris, who only sat for three of the game's 45 minutes, came just two assists shy of a triple-double. Morris scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists. Also, with just 14 seconds remaining in the overtime period, Morris hit two free throws extending Richmond's lead to three.
East Carolina took an 8-3 lead less than four minutes into the game but Richmond battled back and finished the first half on top, 34-31.
The Pirates ended the game with the rebounding edge, 45-34, and their toughness in the paint helped them take the lead with 15:25 left in the second half, holding the advantage until the final seconds. The Spiders found themselves down 59-52 with five minutes remaining but a Thomas lay-up followed 30 seconds later by a Thomas free throw pulled Richmond within four points.
Neither team scored for the next four minutes until a free throw from Morris broke the drought and moved the score to 59-56. A jumper from Geriot with 43 seconds left in the game lifted the Spiders to within a single point but Richmond was forced to foul. After two free throws from East Carolina junior guard Darrell Jenkins, the Spiders had the ball down 61-58 with 10 seconds remaining.
Geriot, with two seconds remaining, saw some space between him and his defender. After taking a step toward the three-point arc on the right side, Geriot knocked down the trey as the Robins Center crowd exploded.
Neither team scored for the first two and a half minutes of overtime but after East Carolina went up 63-61, sophomore Duncan McLean canned two free throws to tie the game. Butler then connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:12 remaining to put Richmond ahead 66-63 and the Spiders held that lead for good with the help of two free throws from Morris.
East Carolina senior guard Courtney Captain led the Pirates with 19 points while freshman forward Gabe Blair paced the Pirates on the glass with 15 rebounds.
Richmond continues its three-game homestand on Friday when it challenges American University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
