University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GAMEDAY: High Point
11/20/2014 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond Spiders (1-1) return home this weekend for a Saturday matinee game against High Point (3-0) at 1 p.m. at the Robins Center.
Richmond overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to take a one-point lead with five minutes remaining, but Old Dominion converted on several field goals in the waning minutes, including a three-pointer with one minute left, to take a 63-57 decision Tuesday night in Norfolk.
T.J. Cline, playing at the alma mater of his Hall of Fame mother Nancy Lieberman, scored a career-high 15 points on a splendiferous 7-of-8 shooting performance, leading all Spider scorers. Alonzo Nelson-Ododa notched his second career double-double and second-straight game with 10 or more rebounds as he finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. ShawnDre' Jones added 12 points on two threes, but an early foulout cut his night short. Richmond outshot ODU, 44-42 percent, but could not convert scoring opportunities down the stretch.
SpiderTV will literally be everywhere on Saturday as the game will beam out to nearly 19 million households around the country. Comcast SportsNet+ and Sportsnet New York (SNY) will both carry the game with the SNY broadcast coming at a tape-delayed 5 p.m. start. An online stream is available on the A-10 Network at Atlantic10.com. Fans can also listen to the game on radio on ESPN 950 AM.
| 2014-15 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - HIGH POINT |
|
| Who | Richmond Spiders (1-1, 0-0) vs. High Point Panthers (3-0, 0-0) |
| When | Saturday, November 22, 2014 | Buy Tickets |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| TV/Live Video |
CSN+ (channel finder); SNY (tape-delayed at 5 p.m.)(channel finder); SpiderTV on A-10 Network (click here) |
| On Air | Bob Black and Greg Beckwith |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Robert Fish and Matt Smith |
| Live Stats | RichmondSpiders.com |
| Game Notes | Richmond | High Point |
| Pregame Media | Mooney Press Conference |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
| Hashtags | #OneRichmond | #A10MBB |
Opening Tip
The Spiders play two of the top three teams in the Big South preseason poll, already defeating Radford, 64-46, in the season opener.
The Spiders have been a strong second-half team this season, especially on Tuesday as they scored nine more points than the first frame and outscored ODU as well.
Richmond is 65-14 at home over the last six seasons. They will look to keep that record polished after defeating Radford in the home opener last Friday night.
Alonzo Nelson-Ododa currently ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 with 10.5 rebounds per game. T.J. Cline's torrid start has him ranked fourth in the league in FG pct (.786).
Richmond has had balanced scoring with five players all averaging 9.5 points or more through two games.
Scouting High Point
Saturday is a Kid's Club game with the first 250 kids club members receiving a free WebstUR Growth Chart.
Scouting High Point
The Panthers head to Virginia after a cross-country trip to Hawai'i that saw High Point win the Rainbow Classic with a title game win over host Hawai'i in ESPN's 24-hour basketball marathon. High Point won a 62-54 contest that started at 5 a.m. ET.
High Point has been led by Big South Preseason Player of the Year and NBA prospect John Brown. He's averaged 19 points and five rebounds per game thus far. Last season, he earned AP All-America honors with 19.5 ppg and 7.7 rpg.
Devante Wallace (15.0 ppg) and Brian Richardson (13.0) have also averaged in double digits as the Panthers scored 78.7 points per contest.
Series vs. High Point
Saturday marks the first-ever game between Richmond and High Point.
Stifling FG Defense
Richmond's stifling defense held down a high-powered Radford attack in the season opener. The Spiders held Radford to just 28 percent from the field, marking the first time since 2010 that Richmond held an opponent under 35 percent field goal shooting. The Spiders locked down the perimeter and forced Radford into a 1-of-13 shooting night from three.
At Old Dominion, Richmond locked down in the second half to hold the Monarchs to just 34.5 pct in that frame, keeping ODU at 63 points for the game.
Scoring on an in-Cline
CBS Sports national writer Jon Rothstein lists T.J. Cline as one of the top underrated transfers in the country this season as he gets his first action with the Spiders. He had to sit out 2013-14 after transferring from Niagara.
In his Spider debut, Cline came off the bench to score 11 points in just 12 minutes. He shot 4-of-6 from the field, mixing a three-pointer with nifty moves in the paint. He followed that up with a career effort at ODU, scoring 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, setting a new career high at Richmond. He now ranks fourth in the A-10 in shooting percentage at .786.
A native of Plano, Texas, Cline is the son of Hall of Fame women's basketball player Nancy Lieberman.
Anthony Tabbed Preseason A-10 First Team
Spider senior guard Kendall Anthony was selected to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team, the conference announced at Atlantic 10 Media Day in Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
Anthony scored 18 points in his debut as the lone Spider senior in the starting lineup. It marked the 74th double-figure scoring game of Anthony's career as he passed Bob McCurdy on the all-time scoring list, moving into 20th place (1,360).
A native of Jackson, Tenn., Anthony earned All-Conference Second Team honors at the end of last season, averaging 15.9 points per game. He led all conference players with 18.7 points per game against A-10-only competition. He also ranked third in the conference with 82 three-pointers made.
This year marks the first time since Kevin Anderson in 2010 that the Spiders have a player on the Preseason All-Conference First Team.
Zo Patrols The Paint
A junior shot-blocker from Atlanta, Ga., Nelson-Ododa has forged his reputation as a rim protector in his years with the Spiders. He was tabbed for the Preseason Atlantic 10 Defensive Team back in October.
In his season debut, Nelson-Ododa rejected four shots, including three blocks in the first four minutes. He then notched his second career double-double and first of the season at ODU, scoring 10 and grabbing 10 rebounds with two blocks.
Last season, Nelson-Ododa ranked 39th in the country and second in the conference with his 78 blocks. He averaged 6.2 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Nelson-Ododa ranks fourth all-time in Spider history with 146 career blocks.
Jones Named SI Breakout Sophomore
Sophomore guard ShawnDre' Jones is poised for a breakout sophomore campaign on the hardwood. The Houston, Texas, native was highlighted by Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn as one of his top breakout sophomore candidates for the 2014-15 men's basketball season.
Last year, Jones saw increased playing time after senior guard Cedrick Lindsay went down with an injury midway through the conference season. In February and March, he averaged 11.8 points per game over the final 10 contests, including a career-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting against George Washington.
In the second game of the season at ODU, Jones scored 12 points with two three-pointers.
Terry's All-En
Junior forward Terry Allen is poised for a breakout season after he averaged 10.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg last year. He shot 50.2 percent from the field, leading the Spiders in scoring efficiency while also posting the team's highest +/- average of 7.87 per game.
Dating back to last season, Allen has averaged 16.2 ppg over the last five games, including a 13-point effort against Radford. He is one of Richmond's most versatile players with speed to run the break, size to score in the paint and an ability to hit perimeter shots.
Second-Half Energy
Last season, Richmond was statistically better in the second half, averaging 35.57 points per second half against 29.66 in the first period.
Against Radford and ODU, averaged 34.0 second-half points against 26.5 first-half points. Richmond has also outscored opponents by an average of 7.5 points in the second half this year.
