University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
1-2
UAB
3-1
Spiders Upend UAB in Cayman Islands Opener
11/20/2017 | Men's Basketball
GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – Redshirt freshman forward Grant Golden scored a career-high 26 points, including 14 in the second half, powering Richmond to its first victory of the season with a 63-50 verdict past UAB in the opening round of the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic Monday.
The Spiders (1-2) will play No. 12 Cincinnati in Tuesday's semifinal round at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. The Bearcats beat Buffalo, 73-67 in the final first round game of the tournament.
"Grant (Golden) had a tremendous game,"Â said Richmond coach Chris Mooney added. "To have that kind of game as freshman was impressive."
Richmond mounted a 36-20 halftime lead, shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding UAB to just 38.1 percent shooting.
"We needed to be much more solid and deliberate on offense," said added Mooney. "I thought we could defend, we just needed our offense to compliment our defense. Our defense had been terrible in our first two home games"
The Blazers missed their first 12 shots beyond the three-point arc before guard Nick Norton broke the dry spell with a three-point basket with 11:43 left in the game to pull UAB within 44-34.
Richmond went over 5 minutes without scoring and UAB took advantage. A three-point basket by Zack Bryant allowed UAB to cut the deficit to 46-40 with 8:04.
But consecutive three-point baskets from Nick Sherod and Golden in a 43-second span in the final two minutes allowed Richmond to reclaim a double digit advantage the remainder of the game.
Sophomore guard De'Monte Buckingham chipped in with 12 points for Richmond, while  Sherod collected 11.
"We're looking forward to tomorrow night," Mooney said. "We need to get some rest tonight and play well."
Bryant led UAB with 16 points, while forward William Lee added 11 points.
UAB forward Chris Cokley grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, marking his 15th career-double figure rebounding game.
UAB, which fell to 3-1, will play the loser of the Cincinnati-Buffalo game in the consolation round at 5 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday.
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STORY BY MIKE MAHON OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CLASSIC
