Spotless Second Half Keeps Spiders Perfect at Home

Sunday, December 8

Robins Center

2:00 PM

University of Richmond

8-1,0-0Atlantic 10

South Alabama

5-4,0-0Sun Belt

South Alabama

Richmond

12/08/2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Sparked by stellar perimeter shooting and a balanced offensive attack, the Richmond Spiders turned a small halftime lead into second-half rout against South Alabama on Sunday, defeating the Jaguars 75-57 to remain perfect on their home court this season.

"I felt our defense was terrific. Disruptive but also very sound," head coach Chris Mooney remarked. "On offense, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball, especially in the second half."

Facing a zone for the first time this season, the Spiders scored 46 points after intermission to improve to 8-1, their best record through nine games since 1985.

The game started with Richmond welcoming back Grant Golden and Nathan Cayo to the frontcourt. The forwards duo both missed the Spiders win over Hampton Tuesday with ankle injuries, and Golden missed Richmond's win over Boston College last Saturday.

A three-pointer from Nick Sherod and a mid-range turnaround by Golden started the Spiders scoring output during an uncertain open for Richmond's offense, as the team trailed 8-5 following the game's opening five minutes. After going through a small stretch of missed shots, two strong post moves from Golden and a finish by Cayo gave Richmond a 16-11 lead with 9:34 remaining in the first half. South Alabama continued to defend aggressively, causing multiple missed field goals, and ultimately took a three-point lead with a 10-2 run before Golden again scored down low. A triple from Blake Francis and another Cayo layup put Richmond back in front, as the Spiders entered the halftime break up 29-24.

After a scoreless first 20 minutes, Jacob Gilyard made consecutive three-pointers at the start of the second half. Golden then found Cayo under the rim for a layup, resulting in Richmond's first double-digit lead of the day. The Spiders then caught fire from distance and upped their lead to 51-36 with 12:39 to play. Francis again connected on a three-pointer from the corner two minutes later to put his team ahead by 20 as Richmond made its first eight three-points attempts of the second half. Two nice dunks, the latter being off of an alley-oop, by Andre Gustavson got his Richmond teammates and fans on their feet; essentially putting the exclamation point on another dominant home victory.

Sherod posted a near double-double of 17 points and nine rebounds for Richmond, while Francis and Gilyard had 15 points each. Gilyard also contributed eight rebounds and seven assists. Golden finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and six assists in his return to the floor.

Richmond has won three straight and is now 6-0 at home this season and 3-0 all-time versus South Alabama.

The Spiders return back to the Robins Center on Saturday to take on Charleston. Tip time is set for 5 p.m and the game will be televised on NBCSN.