Late lead slips away from Spiders in A-10 opener

Saturday, December 31

Fairfax, VA

2:00 PM

University of Richmond

7-7,0-1Atlantic 10

George Mason

9-5,1-0Atlantic 10

Richmond

George Mason

12/31/2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score AUDIO: Coach Mooney Post Game Radio AUDIO: Tyler Burton Post Game Radio

FAIRFAX, Va. — Back-to-back three-pointers from Matt Grace gave Richmond the narrowest possible lead with less than five minutes to play, but the Spiders sputtered down the stretch, allowing George Mason to come away with a 62-58 win in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams at EagleBank Arena Saturday.

The Spiders were just 4-16 from three-point range and had missed six straight when Grace's three from the top of the key narrowed George Mason's lead to 53-51 with 5:35 remaining. Following a stop on the defensive end, Jason Nelson again found Grace open on a pick-and-pop. Grace's jumper from the left wing bounced around the rim and dropped through the net, giving Richmond a 54-53 lead with 4:51 to go.

"I was telling him to keep shooting," said Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney. "He's a guy we need to be aggressive and stay aggressive. When he's aggressive we're much better and much more difficult to guard."

"Anytime Matt Grace is out there and confident he's my favorite player in the country. I would take him over anybody," said Spiders forward Tyler Burton, who led Richmond with 21 points.

But George Mason responded with three timely field goals near the rim — a theme for a Patriots team that outscored Richmond 38-20 in the paint — to retake the lead for good.

"They made the right shots at the right time," said Burton. "It was a tough one all around."

"It's hard to compete and play and win road games in this conference," said Mooney. "A lot of times it's going to come down to making a few more shots and hopefully we can improve in that aspect. We've been a good shooting team. I feel like we are a good shooting team, so hopefully that will continue to show up."

Richmond finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field (22-55), 29 percent from three-point range (6-21), and 8-16 from the foul line.

The game featured 38 fouls, with the Spiders being whistled for 21 infractions, their most in any game this season.

Burton became the first Spider with 20 or more points in four straight games since Grant Golden in 2018, finishing with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Grace scored 15 points while Isaiah Bigelow led Richmond with a season-high 12 rebounds, twice as many as any other Spider.

"He's a pretty dynamic rebounder and we're much better this year in that department and a lot of that is on the backs of Isaiah and Tyler," said Mooney. "12 rebounds in 19 minutes is really, really impressive."

Richmond played large stretches of the game without starting point guard Jason Nelson, who picked up two early fouls, and starting center Neal Quinn, who suffered a thigh contusion.

"Losses are tough and this stings," said Mooney. "But the level of effort and aggression and different guys stepping up and lineups that we're not used to … I was really pleased with the effort and I think it bodes well for the future."

Richmond will play its first A-10 home game of the season on Wednesday vs George Washington at the Robins Center. Tip-off is 7 PM and the game will be streamed on ESPN Plus.