Late Rally Leads To Spiders Win At Fordham

Saturday, February 8

New York, NY

2:00 PM

University of Richmond

17-6,7-3Atlantic 10

Fordham

7-15,1-9Atlantic 10

Richmond

Fordham

02/08/2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score AUDIO: Coach Mooney Post Game AUDIO: Blake Francis Post Game

BRONX, N.Y. -- After stalling out offensively for much of the first three-quarters of the game, Richmond dug in on defense in the game's final 10 minutes to escape from Rose Hill Gym with a 59-53 win over Fordham on Saturday. The Spiders held the Rams scoreless for nearly seven minutes as freshman Tyler Burton came off the bench to spark a 14-0 run that turned an eight-point deficit into a six-point lead for the Spiders late in the second half. Burton registered six points, five rebounds, and a steal during the game-changing stretch.

"He's going to be a special player," said coach Chris Mooney of Burton after the game. "He's getting closer every day. … In a game like this, every play is big because of the low scoring, but those [plays by Burton] were really tremendous ."

With the win, the Spiders improved to 17-6 this season, their best record through 23 games since the 2010-11 season when they advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Junior Jacob Gilyard scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and junior Blake Francis, back in the lineup after missing four weeks with a fractured sternum, added 18 points.

Even with Francis back in the starting lineup, the Spiders offense limped out of the game, scoring just six points over the game's first 10 minutes before Francis hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to pull the Spiders even with the Rams at 12.

Fordham responded with a 10-2 stretch to take a 22-14 lead with 4:37 remaining in the first half. After Richmond scored six straight to close the gap to two, Fordham posted the final five points of the half to take a 30-23 lead into the locker room. Playing for the first time since being injured during a scramble for a loose ball against Saint Louis on January 11^th, Francis led all players with 12 points in the first half.

A layup after a Spiders turnover pushed Fordham's lead to nine just seconds into the second half before Richmond found its range from deep as a pair of three-pointers from Gilyard and one from Francis helped cut Richmond's deficit to one at 37-36.

The Rams quickly ran off seven straight points to build the lead back to eight before the Spiders started their decisive 14-0 surge with a Grant Golden layup with 11 minutes to play. Richmond held Fordham to 0-7 shooting from the field over the next seven minutes, taking a 50-44 lead and holding on for a 59-53 win.

Richmond has won three straight vs Fordham and is now 17-1 in its last 18 games in the series. The Spiders improved to 7-3 in the Atlantic 10, exceeding their conference win total from a year ago (6-12).

Burton finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds in 15 minutes, becoming the first A-10 player to post at least eight points and rebounds in 15 or fewer minutes in a game this season.

The Spiders road trip continues Wednesday when Richmond will visit La Salle. Tip-off time is 7 PM and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.