University of Richmond
Saint Louis
Men's Basketball Stopped By Saint Louis, 78-68
02/28/2007 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2007
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Richmond men's basketball team made 27 field goals, four more than host Saint Louis, but the Billikens enjoyed a 28-6 advantage on free throw attempts in a 78-68 victory on Wednesday night in the Scottrade Center.
The Spiders trailed by as many as 23 in the second half, but used a valiant comeback to pull within nine points with the ball and under a minute to play.
"It was just too big of a hole to dig for us," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "It's disappointing because if we had that (effort) from the beginning, I think it would have been a very competitive game."
Richmond freshman Brian Morris had 13 points and junior Oumar Sylla added 10, but the Spiders lost to the Billikens (18-7, 8-7 Atlantic 10) on Senior Night.
The Spiders will have a berth in the 2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament on the line Saturday when they host Rhode Island (17-12, 10-5 Atlantic 10) for the regular-season finale in the Robins Center at 7 p.m. A Richmond win and losses by St. Bonaventure (at Charlotte) and La Salle (hosting Xavier) would give the Spiders the 12th and final spot in the tournament.
"We're looking forward to it," Geriot said. "We still think that we can be in the tournament."
Richmond out-shot the Billikens from the floor, making 27 field goals on 54 attempts for 50-percent shooting, compared to 23-of-47 (48.0 percent) for Saint Louis. Richmond made 10 3-pointers, compared to seven for Saint Louis, but Saint Louis out-scored the Spiders a glaring 25-4 at the free throw line. Saint Louis was 25-of-28 for the game, while Richmond made 4-of-6.
While the Billikens made three less 3-pointers than the Spiders, Saint Louis did so on 7-of-14 shooting from behind the arc. Richmond connected on 10-of-30 treys.
"They're a team, like when we played them last year, that was going to give us open 3-point shots," Mooney said. "Unfortunately you need to make those or you get into a difficult mode."
The Spiders struggled rebounding yet again, getting crunched on the boards 35-18. Saint Louis was efficient on the offensive glass, converting 11 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points, the most for a Richmond opponent this season.
Morris and Sylla each connected on three 3-pointers as Richmond made double-digit treys for the fourth time this season. Seven of the Spiders' 3-pointers were in the second half.
Kevin Lisch scored a game-high 26 points on five 3-pointers and 11-of-12 shooting from the foul line. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Ian Vouyoukas had 19 points and eight rebounds, while Tommie Liddell had 16 points and nine rebounds.
