University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
UMBC
Spiders Knock Down Clutch Free Throws To Beat UMBC, 78-75
12/11/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond (5-4) hit a season-high 24 free throws on 26 attempts to come back and defeat UMBC (7-2), 78-75, on Saturday night in the Robins Center.
The Spiders overcame a 14-point second-half deficit with fantastic rebounding and clutch shooting.
Richmond outrebounded UMBC, 38-30, with 13 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points. UR's aggressive defense and clutch free throw shooting helped overcome slow shooting stretches from the field.
“I'm proud of our team for coming back and kind of changing the direction of the game in the second half,” head coach Chris Mooney said. “I feel like we made it harder for them there in the second half and we really played the aggressor which was good to see.”
ShawnDre' Jones finished with a team-high 19 points to go with six assists and just one turnover. He went 8-of-8 from the free throw line, all coming in the final 36 seconds of the game.
Khwan Fore stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high nine rebounds and career-high-tying four steals. T.J. Cline reached double figures for the 22nd-straight game as he scored 15 points with six boards and four assists.
De'Monte Buckingham had nine rebounds, eight points and three assists in 23 minutes of action.
Jairus Lyles led the Retrievers with 29 points and six rebounds, although he did commit five turnovers.
Richmond started the game hot, opening an 11-2 lead that eventually grew to 19-9 after a jumper from Fore. However, UMBC's offense found its stride and scored from outside to post a 41-33 lead at halftime.
Six straight points from UMBC to start the second half gave them their largest lead at 47-33, but Richmond began to chip away from there.
Cline converted a three-point play, followed by two free throws from Wood. Several possessions later, Buckingham grabbed an offensive rebound and fed a driving Julius Johnson for a layup to cut it to 55-51. Fore then made a steal and Cline hit Jones for a three that cut the lead to one and erupted the Robins Center.
UMBC would go back up by four, but a jumper from Cline and threes from Fore and Jones put the Spiders ahead for good as Jones hit eight straight free throws in the final 36 seconds to hold off UMBC, 78-75.
Richmond will have another week before hosting Texas Tech at the Robins Center next Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
