University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
ST. BONAVENTURE
Men's Basketball Falls To St. Bonaventure, 61-53
01/27/2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2007
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photos 
| Highlights | Post Game
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - A feverish late rally was not enough as the Richmond men's basketball team lost to St. Bonaventure 61-53 Saturday night in the Robins Center.
The Spiders rallied from behind in the second half, pulling within seven points at the 2:53 mark and then again with 43 seconds remaining.
"Our defense is getting better, I think we were aggressive we had 13 steals and forced some turnovers, but we didn't shoot well enough to give ourselves a good enough chance," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said.
Richmond starting center Drew Crank, a junior from Lynchburg, Va., recorded career highs in points and rebounds and carried the Spiders (5-15, 1-6 Atlantic 10) on his shoulders for the late scoring push. Crank, barely missing a double-double, was the game's leading scorer with 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. Five of Crank's rebounds came on the offensive end and he also picked up three steals in the game.
"He had great intensity, he was very aggressive from the first possession," Mooney said. "He was very active rebounding and good defensively and he was just very, very aggressive."
The Spiders, buried in a 30-16 hole entering halftime and down 18 points a couple minutes into the second half, managed a flurry of buckets to jump back into the contest. Crank, who scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, ignited a 12-4 Richmond run to pull the Spiders within seven points at the 2:53 mark.
The Bonnies (6-14, 3-4 Atlantic 10) answered with a 3-pointer by Tyler Relph with the shot clock running out and then knocked down three of their four free throws in the final 41 seconds to close out the narrow victory.
St. Bonaventure held the rebounding edge, 32-24, but the Spiders grabbed 13 steals and turned their opponent's turnovers into 15 points. Richmond's defensive intensity limited the Bonnies to just 12 shots in the entire second half, while the Spiders shot 57.1 percent during that time.
Three Bonnies scored in double figures, including a team-high 19 points from junior forward Michael Lee on 7-for-11 shooting. Junior guard Tyler Relph finished with 14 points and senior forward Paul Williams notched a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Spider freshman guard David Gonzalvez went 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and finished with nine points, two assists and two steals. The rest of the Spiders went 0-of-11 from behind the arc.
Proceeds from ticket sales at the game, attended by 4,450 people, benefited the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The foundation supports breast cancer research.
Richmond faces the Temple Owls at home on Wednesday. The Owls (7-12, 1-5 Atlantic 10) suffered a 96-92 loss on Saturday to Duquesne.
