University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
#3 Memphis
Third-Ranked Memphis Holds Off Richmond
11/07/2007 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2007
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| SpiderTV Wrap-Up 
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After leading by as many as seven points in the first half over No. 3 ranked Memphis, the Richmond men's basketball team found itself down just three at 62-59 with 6:37 remaining Tuesday night.
The Spiders had fought all night with No. 3 Memphis looking for a chance at knocking off the highest ranked opponent in school history, snapping the Tigers' nation-leading 33-game home winning streak at the FedExForum, and earning a trip to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals of the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic.
But Memphis would march to the foul line eight times - making six free throws - over the next two minutes to turn the three point game into a nine point advantage by the 4:35 mark. The Tigers built on the run of free throws to finish the game on an 18-4 run in an 80-63 win that does not tell the story that the 16,771 fans in attendance or the national television audience on ESPNU witnessed.
Richmond made one less field goal than Memphis (25-24), but the Tigers held an advantage at the free throw line, making 21-of-32 to the Spiders' 7-of-12. The game featured 11 lead changes and nine ties.
Richmond sophomore David Gonzalvez scored a career-high 25 points, making 9-of-15 field goals and tying a career high with four 3-pointers.
"I knew we had to be aggressive coming into the game," Gonzalvez said. "I knew I had to be aggressive to give us a good chance to win. Things didn't fall our way, but we played hard."
Giddings scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, leading the Spiders to an impressive total of 34 rebounds, compared to 37 for the long and athletic Tigers.
"They're talent level was incredible, but we feel like we are talented too," Giddings said. "We were hanging right with them, we weren't star struck or anything like that. We played hard. No matter who is on the court, we're always going to compete."
The Spiders, who squeaked by Maine 44-42 in the season opener Monday, fell behind 13-3 and 15-5 in the early going to a Tiger squad that defeated UT-Martin 102-71 in the other opening round game. But a 3-pointer and lay-up by freshman Justin Harper cut the gap to five points at the 12:42 mark and at the 9:10 mark Ryan Butler sank a trey to tie the game at 20-20.
With the score tied 22-22, Gonzalvez embarked on a 7-0 run of his own with three lay-ups, including one going for an old-fashioned 3-point play, to give Richmond a 29-22 advantage and quiet the crowd at the FedExForum.
"They played well," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "We knew they would."
The Tigers, who made all nine of their 3-pointers in the first half, used three 3-pointers in 1:18 to take the lead, but the Spiders hung in there and trailed 40-39 at the half.
The second half was back-and-forth for the first 10 minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points until Memphis opened up an eight-point lead with 8:23 remaining. The 16,771 fans wanted the Tigers to put the Spiders away, but two free throws by Giddings and Gonzalvez's fourth 3-pointer of the night had Richmond down 62-59 with 6:37 remaining.
That would be as close as the Spiders could get as a flurry of fouls on the Spiders sent Memphis to the foul line eight times in the next two minutes.
"We came out pretty strong and then at the end, I don't want to say we fell off, but we really didn't get a great run to finish it off," said freshman point guard Kevin Anderson, who had five assists and just one turnover in 32 minutes. "We've just got to finish the game strong."
Memphis freshman Derrick Rose had 21 points, making 6-of-8 shots from the field. Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points and Willie Kemp had 11 for the Tigers.
