Spirited Spiders Comeback Falls Short vs VCU

Saturday, March 2

Robins Center

4:00 PM

University of Richmond

12-17

VCU

23-6

VCU

Richmond

03/02/2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score COACH MOONEY POSTGAME PHOTO GALLERY

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The Spiders were inches away from overcoming a nine-point deficit in the game's final minute, but Jake Wojcik's three-point attempt bounced off the top of the rim as the clock expired, allowing VCU to escape the Robins Center with a 69-66 win in the Lumber Liquidators Capital City Classic on Saturday.

"Had we won I'd be much happier, but I wouldn't be any more proud of our guys," said coach Chris Mooney. "I thought we really fought and competed and played extremely hard through some adversity and some things that didn't go our way."

Neither team was able to execute offensively early on, with the Rams holding the Spiders to just 11 points and taking a 10-point lead at 21-11 with 5:39 remaining in the first half.

The Spiders bounced back with a 13-4 run, including a trio of threes from Noah Yates off the bench to cut the Rams lead to one. However, VCU answered with a 9-0 run to take a 34-24 advantage at the break.

After scoring 24 points in the first 20 minutes, the Spiders scored 21 in the opening nine minutes of the second half and took a 45-43 lead on Jacob Gilyard's layup with 11:27 to play.

VCU jumped back out to an eight-point advantage three minutes later after getting a three-pointer for De'Riante Jenkins and a pair of threes from Malik Crowfield. But the Spiders continued to battle inside, as Yates and Nathan Cayo each scored in the paint to cut the lead to four with less than three minutes left in the game.

After the Rams stretched their lead to nine at the foul line, a three-pointer from Grant Golden followed by a Rams turnover and another three from Jake Wojcik cut the lead to three with 38 seconds remaining.

Another VCU turnover gave the ball back to the Spiders, and Gilyard was fouled with 12 seconds to play. He made one of two at the line, and Richmond fouled VCU's Marcus Evans on the ensuing inbounds pass, sending him to the line with 10 seconds remaining.

Evans missed his first but made his second to make the score 69-66. Andre Gustavson found Wojcik on the wing with two seconds left. The freshman pump-faked to get his man in the air and stepped to his left for a clean look at a three-pointer, but it drew iron at the buzzer.

Gilyard led all scorers with 23 points, including 16 in the second half, and also contributed a game-high six assists plus three steals. His 136 assists this season are tied for seventh most in a season in school history, and his 85 steals are tied for second, trailing only the school record 89 he had last season.

Nate Cayo (12) and Noah Yates (11) also finished in double figures for Richmond. Grant Golden pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with eight points and five assists.

The Spiders return to action on Wednesday, March 6, when they travel to face UMass in their final road A-10 contest of the regular season. Game time in Amherst, Mass., is set for 7 p.m.