University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Men's Basketball Comes Up Just Short Against George Washington, 63-58
01/17/2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2007
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Highlights | Post-Game Show
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team led by as many as five points in the second half but George Washington squeaked out of the see-saw battle with a 63-58 victory at the Robins Center.
Two free throws by senior Peter Thomas brought the Spiders into a 54-54 tie with the Colonials with 2:13 to play and Richmond forced a loose ball on George Washington's next possession, but GW came up with the ball and Maureece Rice made a 15-foot jump shot for a two-point lead.
On the Spiders' next possession, Richmond's Ryan Butler was called for a questionable offensive foul as he passed the ball to freshman center Dan Geriot. Another jumper by Rice with the shot clock winding down made it 58-54 with 1:01 to play.
"The game came down to a couple plays toward the end," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "It was a loose ball at the end that GW gets and Rice puts it in from 15 feet. We came down and committed a charge on a lay-up. When you are young there are plays that you do or do not make. You have got to make so many to get in that position and it's hard to make the plays to finish it out."
The Spiders were unable to score on its next two possessions, and George Washington made 3-of-4 free throws to extend the lead to seven. A lay-up by Geriot and two free throws by freshman guard Brian Morris had the deficit back to three (61-58) with eight seconds left, but GW's Rob Diggs made both free throws to ice the game.
"If we come up with some of those loose balls toward the end and cut our turnovers down we could have won," Richmond sophomore forward Jarhon Giddings said. "We were right there at the end of the game"
Giddings went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, tying a career high with 13 points in just 22 minutes played. Geriot also reached double-figures with 12 points to go with five rebounds and three assists.
The fans in attendance were treated to a close contest that featured eight lead changes and 11 ties. Richmond entered halftime down 29-25 but started the second half on a 9-0 run, including two lay-ups from senior forward Peter Thomas and a 3-pointer by Giddings.
The Spiders (5-12, 1-3 Atlantic 10) shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range and finished 10-for-12 at the free-throw line, matching the visiting Colonials shot for shot. George Washington (12-4, 3-1 Atlantic 10) put in a strong performance on the boards, collecting seven rebounds on the offensive end and turning them into eight second-chance points.
Red-shirt freshman Ryan Butler played a big role in the Spider success beyond the arc. Butler hit three treys, two of which came consecutively midway through the second half. The first of the two broke a 38-38 tie at the 12:36 mark. After GW senior guard Carl Elliott followed to trim Richmond's lead to one point, Butler hit another 3-pointer at 10:24 to push the Spider advantage to four.
Carl Elliott led five Colonials in double-figures with 14 points. Dokun Akingbade had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Diggs, Rice and Travis King each had 10 points.
Richmond travels to Ohio and plays Dayton on Saturday at 2 p.m. That game can be seen live in the Richmond area on WRIC-ABC Channel 8. The Flyers dropped to 12-5 overall and 2-2 in league play following Wednesday's 80-59 loss to Charlotte, but are 11-0 at home.
