Backcourt Leads Short-Handed Spiders Over Hampton

Tuesday, December 3

Hampton, VA

7:00 PM

University of Richmond

7-1

Hampton

3-5

Richmond

Hampton

12/03/2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score AUDIO: Coach Mooney Postgame AUDIO: Blake Francis Postgame

HAMPTON, Va. – With their two tallest starters sidelined with ankle injuries, guards Jacob Gilyard and Blake Francis put forth a giant effort to lead Richmond to a 80-63 road win at Hampton on Tuesday. Francis scored a game-high 29 points, matching his career high, and Gilyard finished with 18 points and a career-best 10 assists while also notching his 1,000^th career point.

Richmond used its third different starting lineup in as many games, as freshman Tyler Burton made his first career start in place of Nathan Cayo, who is recovering from a right ankle injury. Burton was joined by Sal Koureissi, making his second start of the season, and Nick Sherod, Francis, and Gilyard in the starting lineup.

The Spiders jumped out to a 12-8 lead on three early three-pointers from Francis and one from Gilyard. Nick Sherod, the third and final of Richmond's regular starters in the lineup Tuesday night, gave Richmond a 20-16 lead with 8:42 remaining in the first half with a turnaround jumper from the low post, one of the few baskets the guard-heavy Spiders would score in the paint during the game.

But Richmond would miss its next five shots from the field and turn the ball over twice during a 12-0 run by Hampton that gave the Pirates a 28-20 lead at the four-minute mark of the first half. Richmond answered with 14 straight points, with three-pointers from Francis and Sherod starting and ending the Spiders run. Following a pair of Pirates foul shots, Richmond led 34-30 at halftime.

Francis opened the scoring in the second half with another three-pointer to expand the Spiders lead to seven at 37-30. Hampton closed the gap to two at 39-37 and to three at 42-39, but couldn't match Richmond's shooting from deep, as the Spiders added a pair of three-pointers from Matt Grace and another from Sherod to build their lead to 48-41.

With the score at 50-44, Richmond rolled off 10 straight points to take a 60-44 lead midway through the second half. The Pirates never seriously threatened down the stretch, as Richmond built its lead to as many as 22 before coasting to an 80-63 win.

Francis's 29 points matched his career high from February 8, 2018, when he scored 29 points against Bryant during his sophomore season at Wagner. It was the most points scored by a Spider since Grant Golden, who missed his second straight game with a left ankle injury, scored 33 against Wyoming on November 21, 2018.

Gilyard became the 48^th player to score 1,000 career points at Richmond with a free-throw at the 2:54 mark of the first half. He ended the game with 18 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double. Gilyard is the third different Spider to have double-digits assists and no turnovers in a game in the last 10 seasons, joining T.J. Cline in 2017 and Trey Davis in 2016.

Sherod finished one rebound shy of a double-double, registering 16 points and nine rebounds. Andre Gustavson came off the bench to score a season-high eight points while Matt Grace contributed a career-best seven points in a reserve role.

The Spiders are 7-1, their best eight-game start since the 2009-10 season. With the win, Richmond improved to 6-2 all-time vs Hampton and 15-3 vs current Big South schools under Chris Mooney.

Mooney and the Spiders will return to action Sunday against South Alabama. Tip time is 2:00 PM and the game will be shown regionally on MASN and nationally on ESPN Plus.