Second-half struggles doom Spiders at VCU

Friday, February 18

Richmond, VA

7:00 PM

University of Richmond

17-10,8-6Atlantic 10

VCU

18-7,11-3Atlantic 10

Richmond

VCU

02/18/2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – VCU outscored Richmond 13-0 over a crucial three-minute span at the end of the first half and start of the second half Friday, leading to a 77-57 win for the Rams at the Siegel Center in the Capital City Classic presented by Richmond Area Honda Dealers.

A pair of Grant Golden layups sandwiched around a bucket by Andre Gustavson stretched Richmond's lead to 28-20 with two minutes remaining in the first half and forced a VCU timeout. But after holding VCU to 20 points in the game's first 18 minutes, Richmond surrendered eight quick points in the final two minutes of the half to allow VCU to tie the game at 28 heading into halftime.

VCU opened the second half with a dunk and a three-pointer to take a 33-28 lead and never looked back.

"We thought we were in good shape in the first half," said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. "VCU being able to close the half on that 8-0 run … that was pivotal. In the second half I thought they played great. They were able to get to some good spots and make shots. We didn't do enough offensively to keep pace with that."

VCU scored 49 points and shot 57 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, while the Spiders had trouble converting on the offensive end all night, finishing the game shooting 36 percent from the field and 6-25 from three-point range.

Tyler Burton led Richmond with 13 points and 11 rebounds to record his second straight double-double and seventh of the season. Grant Golden (11 points) and Andre Gustavson (10 points) also reached double digits for the Spiders.

Jacob Gilyard added eight points, five rebounds, and four assists, increasing his career total to 748 assists and tying the all-time Atlantic 10 record held by Temple's Howard Evans.

Richmond has four games remaining in its regular-season schedule, starting with a road trip to George Washington Tuesday. The game will tip at 7 PM and be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington and ESPN Plus.