Spiders Smother Boston College For Third Power-Conference Win

Saturday, November 30

Robins Center

2:30 PM

University of Richmond

6-1,0-0Atlantic 10

Boston College

4-4,1-0ACC

Boston College

Richmond

Spiders Smother Boston College For Third Power-Conference Win

11/30/2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Mooney, Gilyard, Francis Postgame

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond men's basketball team turned a close game at halftime upside down with a dominating second half performance as the Spiders out-scored Boston College 39-18 after intermission on their way to a convincing 64-44 victory over the Eagles from the Atlantic Coast Conference Saturday afternoon at the Robins Center. The Spiders took over the game with a dominant 23-2 run that changed a game tied at 30-30 into a commanding 53-32 lead for Richmond.

Richmond has now picked up wins this season against the ACC, Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences. The Spiders have three wins over power-conference foes in the same season for the first time since 2010-11. The victory over the Eagles improves the Spiders to 4-3 in the last seven games against the ACC and 3-1 all-time against Boston College.

The Spiders are 6-1 on the season, the best record for Richmond through seven games since the 2010-11 season. The win also runs the Spiders' record to 5-0 at home at the Robins Center, UR's longest home winning streak since 2015.

Richmond dominated the second half, out-scoring the Eagles by 21 points and limiting them to 7-of-25 (28%) shooting from the field. The Spiders held Boston College to only six points in the first 14 minutes after halftime, forcing the Eagles into six turnovers and allowing just three field goals in that span. Freshman Tyler Burton (Uxbridge, Mass.) gave the Spiders a big lift on the defensive end, recording four steals and grabbing five rebounds. Burton also finished with four points, playing a career-high 30 minutes.

Junior guard Jacob Gilyard (Kansas City, Mo.) was the dominant offensive force in the second half, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes, including 13 in the game-changing run. Gilyard finished 4-of-8 from three-point range and added six assists to go along with his game-high five steals. Redshirt junior guard Blake Francis (Herndon, Mo.) added 18 points in the win, going 4-of-7 on 3-pointers.

Richmond played without the services of redshirt junior forward Grant Golden (Winchester, Va.), who missed the game due to an ankle injury, snapping a streak of 71-straight starts for Golden. Sophomore forward Souleymane Koureissi (Harlem, N.Y.) made his first career start in Golden's place.

The Spiders started strong, taking a 10-5 lead in the early going as Francis scored eight of the first 10 points of the game. Boston College answered back with 10 straight, taking a 15-10 lead before the Spiders' defense started to settle in. Koureissi got it going with a block on one end and a basket trimming the gap to 15-14 but the Eagles scored eight-straight for a 23-14 lead.

The Spiders' defense turned up the pressure at that point, posting an 11-0 run and taking a 25-23 lead. Junior forward Nathan Cayo (Montreal, Quebec) was the catalyst scoring seven of the points during the run, converting an old-fashioned three-point play and scoring in the post on back-to-back possessions before Boston College hit a three-pointer late in the half taking a 26-25 lead into the locker room. Richmond forced the Eagles into 11 first half turnovers, scoring 10 points off the miscues.

The Spiders came out in the second half and took control with a 23-2 run, taking a 53-32 lead and forcing Boston College into two early timeouts. Gilyard took over, scoring eight-straight in the game and 13 points in the run, including a trifecta of three-pointers. The Spiders got contributions all over the lineup during the game-changing run as Burton got the run going with a dunk and sophomore Andre Gustavson (Helsinki, Finland) hit a three-pointer from the corner.

Richmond finished the game forcing 18 Boston College turnovers, turning those miscues into 21 points. The Spiders also out-scored the Eagles 28-16 in the paint, despite missing their biggest post presence in Golden.

The Spiders hit the road for their first true road game of the year Tuesday night, travelling to Hampton. Game time is set for 7 p.m. against the Pirates.

-- UR --