Burton scores 29 as Spiders win fifth straight

Sunday, December 19

Robins Center

4:00 PM

University of Richmond

8-4,0-0Atlantic 10

Old Dominion

-57,00 CUSA

Old Dominion

Richmond

12/19/2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Mooney, Burton Postgame Quick Highlights

RICHMOND, Va -- In a nip-and-tuck game against an in-state rival, Richmond outlasted Old Dominion 67-61 Sunday at the Robins Center behind a game-high 29 points from Tyler Burton. With both teams struggling to shoot the ball -- Richmond hitting on 40 percent of its field goal attempts and ODU making 34 percent from the field -- separation was hard to come by and neither team led by more than eight over the entire 40 minutes.

"[It was] realyl a hard-fought game," said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. "We played such a different style of game on Friday night against an athletic, ball pressure, in the passing-lane-type team [NC State] and tonight we played a strong, solid, keep-everything-in-front-of-you type team, very, very strong, very physical."

The Monarchs physicality allowed them to outrebound the Spiders 44-31 and grab 20 offensive rebounds leading to 26 second-chance points. It also sent Richmond to the line 33 times, with the Spiders shooting 27-33 on free throws, their most made free throws since hitting 31 in a win vs California on Nov. 27, 2015.

"That's what college basketball is, that's the beauty of it, all the different styles that there are. I was pleased that we got enough stops because I thought our defense -- aside from our rebounding -- was excellent," said Mooney. "They played the two big guys more than I've seen them play the two big guys together and I think just doubling down on their strength which is getting on the glass. They did that to a high level tonight and we were fortunate enough to come out with a win."

Richmond got off to a slow start in the first half offensively, missing a pair of shots and committing two turnovers on its first four possessions as ODU took a 7-0 lead. Grant Golden got the Spiders back in the game, netting seven of UR's first eight points as Richmond closed the gap. The Spiders took their first lead at 18-16 following a 6-0 run and led 32-27 going into the locker room. Defensively, the Spiders held the Monarchs to 30 percent shooting in the first half and allowed only four field goals in the final 14:10 before halftime.

After Richmond stretched its lead to eight early after intermission, the Monarchs responded with a 15-6 stretch to retake the lead at 48-47 with 5:57 to play.

The Monarchs still held a one-point edge with three minutes to play before Nathan Cayo and Burton stepped up for the Spiders. First, Cayo made a short jumper in the lane for his first field goal of the night and was fouled, an old-fashioned three-point play to give UR a 56-54 lead. Moments later, a three-pointer from Burton made the score 59-56 Spiders. Following an ODU three-pointer, Cayo again scored and was fouled in the lane, making the foul shot to put Richmond up 62-59 with 1:34 remaining. After a Monarchs bucket, Burton was fouled on a three-point attempt with 16 seconds to play. He made all three free throws to put Richmond ahead 65-61, and Cayo added two more free throws to clinch the win.

Burton's 29 points nearly matched his career high of 30 set at Drake earlier this year. He also added a season-high 10 rebounds for his seventh career double-double. Cayo finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

Grant Golden scored 15 points and further etched his name further in Spiders lore as he passed Peter Woolfolk (859) for fourth on Richmond's career rebounding list, finishing the game with 860 career boards.

The Spiders held ODU to 33.8 percent shooting from the field (23-68), the lowest for any Spiders opponnent since La Salle made 29.8 percent of its field goals in a loss to UR on Feb. 12, 2020.

Richmond is back in action at the Robins Center for its final non-conference game Wednesday, hosting Bucknell. The 4:00 p.m. game will be televised on NBC Sports Washington Plus and ESPN Plus.