University of Richmond
Old Dominion
Spiders Drop Tough 64-61 Decision To ODU
11/15/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Rivalry games are never for the faint of heart.
Monday night's showdown between the University of Richmond men's basketball team and in-state foe Old Dominion was no exception.
The Spiders (1-1) clawed their way back and fought the Monarchs (2-0) to the end, but dropped a tough 64-61 decision despite 41 combined points from seniors ShawnDre' Jones and T.J. Cline.
Jones, who was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after his 31-point performance on Friday night, poured in a game-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, along with four assists on the night. Cline put his all-around game on display with 18 points, and team highs of seven assists and six rebounds.
"I thought we showed a lot of grit and fight in the way that we responded to the start of the game," head coach Chris Mooney said. "I'm proud of the way that we came back and I'm excited for what this team has in store."
As a team, the Spiders had 14 assists on 23 field goals, while limiting ODU, who averaged nearly 70 points a game last year, to just 64 on the evening.
ODU jumped out of the gates grabbing a 22-4 lead after 11 minutes, but the Spiders began to chip away at the Monarch lead.
Three-pointers by Jones and Marshall Wood highlighted a 14-4 Richmond run that brought the Spiders within 26-18 with just over five minutes to play in the first half.
ODU responded by pushing the lead back to 13, but Jones had three straight buckets and Cline finished the half with an old-fashioned three-point play to cap off a 9-0 Spiders run over the final 3:18 of the half to send Richmond into the break down just 31-27.
The teams traded baskets to start the second half, but Julius Johnson came off the bench to provide a spark, igniting a 7-0 run that gave Richmond its first lead of the game at 43-40 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
Richmond would keep the lead for the next four minutes, but ODU clawed back and regained the lead with just under eight minutes to play.
Down the stretch was a nail biter for both sides with neither team leading by more than three points over the final seven minutes.
With the game tied at 56, Jones pulled up and drilled a three-pointer to give Richmond a 59-56 cushion. However, ODU responded with back-to-back buckets of their money to eventually tie the game at 60-0 with 3:26 remaining.
Both teams would shoot free throws with the Monarchs grabbing a 63-61 lead with under 30 seconds to play. Jones would drive the lane and draw contact, but his shot bounced out and ODU held on for the three-point victory.
Richmond returns to action next Sunday when they host Robert Morris on Harry Potter Day at the Robins Center. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m.
