University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
DAYTON
Spiders Finish 14-1 At Home With Comeback Win Over Dayton
03/05/2010 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2010
David Gonzalvez said seeing his mother on the court before the game on Senior Night at Richmond "softened my heart a little bit." Then he broke Dayton's.
Gonzalvez scored 14 points, including seven straight to give Richmond its first lead late in the second half on Thursday night, and the Spiders rallied to beat the Flyers 60-56.
"Those guys were just overpowering us, getting every loose ball, outrebounding us, being more physical, getting to the line, getting more calls because they were being more aggressive," Gonzalvez said of the Flyers, who outrebounded the smaller Spiders 44-25.
"At halftime we just decided to grit our teeth and overcome this."
It took almost the entire half, or until Gonzalvez gave them their first lead since midway through the first half with a deep 3-pointer with 5:35 to play. That made it 53-51, and after Marcus Johnson tied it, Gonzalvez put Richmond ahead for good with a fall-away 15-footer. He also followed empty possessions for both teams with a tough, driving layup.
On a night when he hadn't played his best for most of the game, that the senior rose to the occasion with the game on the line was not at all surprising to either coach.
"You think he's bound to make a play or two because he has for four years," Flyers coach Brian Gregory said after his team lost for the third time in four games, continuing the late season struggles that have produced six losses in 11 games, damaging their tournament hopes.
"I'm always expecting him to make a play," Richmond coach Chris Mooney said.
Kevin Anderson led the way with 22 for the Spiders (23-7, 12-3 Atlantic 10 Conference), who bounced back from a double-overtime loss at Xavier and seemed to erase any doubt that they are heading to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004, no matter what happens next.
They close the regular season at Charlotte on Saturday.
Dayton (19-10, 8-7) lost despite the huge rebounding edge, which included a 20-6 advantage on the offensive end. Those 20 boards turned into just 14 points, however, and the Spiders minimized the deficit somewhat by turning 20 turnovers into 19 points.
"If you eliminate one aspect of the game, we did everything we wanted," Gregory said. "The problem is that one aspect is the turnovers. ... You can't rebound a turnover."
Chris Johnson led the Flyers with 13 points and Marcus Johnson scored 10.
The Spiders trailed most of the night, but Gonzalvez's second 3-pointer capped a 10-2 burst and gave Richmond its first lead since midway through the first half.
His fall-away jumper answered Marcus Johnson's basket, and his driving basket boosted the Spiders' lead to four. Rob Lowery pulled the Flyers within one with a three-point play, but Anderson hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left and the Spiders had escaped.
Justin Harper added 13 points in Richmond's ninth win its past 10 games.
Gonzalvez and Butler, honored before the game as the lone seniors on the Spiders' roster, finished their Robins Center careers' strong. Gonzalvez finished with 14 points, which tied him with Curtis Blair for fifth on Richmond's all-time scoring list and Butler swiped a career-high six steals, which tied for fifth on Richmond's single-game list.
Seven Flyers scored in a 16-7 burst that turned an 8-7 deficit into a 23-15 lead. They extended it to 28-17 before Richmond closed the half with an 8-1 spree. Anderson scored the last six points of the half, finishing with a layup off a steal just before the buzzer.
