University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
UNC-Wilmington
Richmond Defeats UNC Wilmington, 76-69
12/28/2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2008
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WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Richmond men's basketball team led by as many as 22 points in the second half and held off a comeback bid to defeat UNC Wilmington 76-69 on Sunday night at Trask Coliseum.
Senior Jarhon Giddings and sophomore Kevin Anderson each scored 16 points as the Spiders won their second-straight to improve to 7-5 overall.
Giddings, who made 7-of-10 field goals, scored 14 of his 16 in the first half, while Anderson had 14 of his 16 in the second session.
Junior David Gonzalvez scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while redshirt freshman Josh Duinker made 4-of-6 field goals for nine points.
Sophomore Kevin Smith scored eight points, grabbed a career-high nine rebounds had three assists and two steals. Sophomore Justin Harper had eight points, four rebounds and a career-high four blocks.
Richmond led by four points (27-23) with 8:10 to play in the first half, but closed the half on a 17-4 run to lead 44-27 lead at the half.
"We really came out and played well," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "We had a size advantage and we were able to exploit that."
The Spiders scored 28 of their 42 second-chance points in the first half and out-rebounded the Seahawks 23-12 in the opening 20 minutes.
"We were able to score inside and we were able to rebound," Mooney said. "I was really pleased with the way we played in the first half, it was one of our best halves of the season."
The Spiders pushed the advantage to 22 points at 56-34 with 15:05 to play, and still led by 20 with under 12 minutes to play, but UNC Wilmington had the deficit down to single digits with 7:02 left.
A 19-4 UNC Wilmington run made it a five-point game with 5:58 remaining and the Seahawks would close to within one with under a minute remaining. Richmond received key baskets from Anderson, Harper and Gonzalvez down the stretch to stay in front. Anderson and Gonzalvez combined to make 8-of-8 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
"The second half we just let down a bit," Mooney said. "Not just our execution, but our whole mentality. We let the game get closer than we would have liked, but I'm glad we closed the game out the way we did."
The Spiders return to action on Wednesday when they head to Lexington, Va. to face VMI at 7 p.m. in a game broadcast on MASN.
