Spiders Top La Salle, 81-74, for Third-Straight Win

Saturday, January 20

Robins Center

2:30 PM

University of Richmond

6-13 (4-3)

La Salle

8-12 (2-5)

LAS

RICHMOND

01/20/2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score COACH MOONEY POSTGAME GOLDEN, BUCKINGHAM, SHEROD POSTGAME LISTEN: Mooney Post Game Radio LISTEN: Gilyard Post Game Radio

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond men's basketball team has found its stride.

The Spiders shot a season-high 50-percent from 3-point range and tied a season-high with 11 steals on their way to an 81-74 win over visiting La Salle on Saturday afternoon at the Robins Center.

The win was the Spiders' third-straight over La Salle (6-13, 4-3 A-10), and fifth-straight at home over the Explorers.

"The maturity in our players is definitely showing, and it's more obvious now with some experience under our belts," head coach Chris Mooney said after the game. "A lot of it has to do with the character of the players. The assistant coaches and staff have also done a great job of keeping everyone looking ahead and staying mentally tough throughout the season."

Nick Sherod and Grant Golden sparked the Spiders in the second half, scoring a team-high 18 points each, while Jacob Gilyard, Khwan Fore and De'Monte Buckingham also scored in double digits. Gilyard tied a career-high six steals in the win.

"I've never seen anything like Jacob's ability to steal the ball," Mooney said. "I've never seen anyone steal the ball so regularly."

"Experience is helping us out a lot," Golden said. "We're shooting the ball better from behind the arc and from the field in general, and guys are growing and starting to learn and become more comfortable with the defense."

The Spiders got off to a hot start, taking a 7-0 lead to force a La Salle (8-12, 2-5 A-10) timeout less than a minute and a half into the game. The home squad then expanded their edge to 13-0 before the Explorers got on the board, boasting a 4-for-4 shooting performance and three steals to start the game.

La Salle sparked a comeback to pull it to within one twice during the opening half, and used an 8-0 run in under a two-minute span to take a 34-32 lead with three minutes remaining in the half.

The Spiders rebounded to take the lead back, but Pookie Powell drained a three at the buzzer to give La Salle a 41-40 lead at the break. The Spiders' 40 points were the second-most in a first half this season, while their 35 first half field goal attempts were a season high.

The Explorers opened the second half with a 11-2 run to go up 52-42, but the Spiders battled back and used three-straight field goals, including a pair from Nick Sherod, to pull within two with under 10 minutes to play.

Sherod stepped up again less than four minutes later, rattling in a long three-point attempt to tie the game at 67 before Fore scored to give the Spiders their first lead of the half.

After La Salle tied the game at 74, Sherod stepped up to hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Richmond the advantage with just over a minute to play. A steal by Fore then led to a Gilyard 3-pointer and a six-point Spider lead with 25 seconds remaining, and a pair of free throws sealed the 81-74 Richmond win.

The Spiders will now hit the road for two games, beginning at Duquesne on Wednesday, January 24. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Pittsburgh.