Spiders Drop Opener To Loyola at Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic

Monday, November 19

Fort Myers, Fla.

6:30 PM

University of Richmond

2-2

Loyola-Chicago

4-1

RICHMOND

Loyola Chicago

Spiders Drop Opener To Loyola at Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic

11/19/2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A three-point halftime lead proved to be not nearly enough for the Richmond Spiders against Loyola-Chicago at the Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic on Monday as the Ramblers raced to 49 second-half points en route to an 82-66 win.

Sophomore Jacob Gilyard led the Spiders in points (19), assists (five), and steals (four), continuing his streak of at least 15 points and five assists in every game this season. Loyola-Chicago, coming off an appearance in the 2018 Final Four, was led by a career-high 23 points from Lucas Williamson.

In their first game against a team coming off a Final Four appearance since a 2012 loss to Kansas, the Spiders opened up an early 9-6 edge on three-pointers from freshman Jake Wojcik, senior Julius Johnson, and Gilyard. Richmond continued to find its range from the field throughout the first half, hitting on 52 percent of its field goal attempts and building a lead of as many as nine points.

Loyola rallied to take a two-point lead with five minutes remaining in the first half before a 10-5 Spiders run gave Richmond a 36-33 edge at intermission. Gilyard was dominant in the first 20 minutes, leading both teams with 12 points, five assists, and four steals.

In the second half, Williamson put the Ramblers in the lead for good with back-to-back layups three minutes into the period as Loyola began to attack the baseline on the edges of the Spiders zone. "They really did a good job of driving against us in the second half and not focusing as much on shooting or working the ball into the post," said Richmond head coach Chris Mooney after the game.

The Ramblers also turned 11 Spiders turnovers into 16 points after halftime and committed just five turnovers of their own after giving it away 12 times in the first half.

Other than Gilyard, sophomore Grant Golden (13) and junior Nick Sherod (12) also scored in double figures. Wojcik scored eight points and sophomore Nate Cayo, the final starter, scored three points after being limited to a season-low 12 minutes due to foul trouble.

Richmond will return to action Wednesday at 5:00 pm against Wyoming. At stake for the Spiders is a spot in the record books for Chris Mooney, whose 239 wins at Richmond are tied with Dick Tarrant for the most by a coach in program history.