University of Richmond
Hampton
Balanced Effort Leads Spiders To 65-52 Win Over Hampton
11/22/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – With over 2,500 local school kids in the stand, the Richmond men's basketball team put on a perfect display of the power of teamwork.
Six different Spiders scored at least eight points and six different players had at least one assist on the day as Richmond dropped in-state foe Hampton, 65-52, on Tuesday afternoon at Dream Big Day at the Robins Center.
“It was a solid win for us where we were able to get a lot of guys involved, a good way to head into our tournament in New York,” Head Coach Chris Mooney said. “I thought our defense was key for us today, we still have some areas that we can improve, but overall, I thought our guys made it tough for them to score.”
Senior T.J. Cline led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds and dishing out a game-high five assists. Classmate Marshall Wood was the other Spider in double-digits with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, all of which came from beyond the arc.
Julius Johnson tied a career high with eight points and a career-high seven rebounds, while guards Khwan Fore and ShawnDre' Jones each scored nine.
“We got off to a slow start offensively with our shots not falling, but we were able to stick with our defensive game plan, which allowed us to settle into a groove on the offensive end in the second half,” Cline said.
Wood got things started quickly for the Spiders, connecting on a corner three-pointer to give Richmond a 3-0 advantage.
With both offenses struggling to score, Cline sparked a 9-2 run to give the Spiders a 12-7 with eight minutes left in the first half.
Hampton would claw back and tie the game two more times before Wood and fellow senior ShawnDre' Jones helped the Spiders end the half on a 8-2 run to take a 25-19 lead into the break.
Out of halftime, Richmond's defense ignited a 14-0 run, forcing five Pirate turnovers in just over five minutes to give the Spiders a 44-25 lead with 12:47 to play.
Freshman De'Monte Buckingham led Richmond down the stretch as the Spiders never lost a double-digit lead and held on for the 65-52 victory.
Richmond returns to action on Friday night in the first game of the Barclays Center Classic against perennial national contender Maryland. Game time is set for 9 p.m.
