Minutemen down Spiders with late run

Wednesday, January 25

Amherst, MA

7:00 PM

University of Richmond

11-10,4-4Atlantic 10

Massachusetts

12-8,3-5Atlantic 10

Richmond

Massachusetts

01/25/2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. — Massachusetts used a 12-0 run over the final 2:42 of the game to send the Richmond Spiders to an 85-76 loss at the Mullins Center Wednesday evening. Jason Nelson's corner three-pointer with 3:06 to play gave Richmond a 76-73 lead, but UMass held Richmond to 0-7 from the field down the stretch to beat the Spiders for the first time in the last four meetings between the schools.

"Defensively, it was not nearly good enough in the second half," said Spiders Head Coach Chris Mooney after Richmond gave up 53 points after halftime. "They really got to the free throw line. They made threes. Usually that has to do with just a little bit too much comfort maybe. They scored the ball just too consistently in the second half."

The loss dropped the Spiders to 11-10 on the season and 4-4 in the Atlantic 10.

Richmond led 37-32 at intermission after Tyler Burton's deep two-point jumper from the corner just beat the halftime buzzer. UMass quickly jumped back in the lead with a pair of three-pointers in the first 80 seconds of the second half, part of a 7-10 effort from three-point range for the Minutemen after halftime Wednesday.

The teams would go on to exchange the lead 10 more times in the second half, with neither team leading by more than four until the Minutemen scored the game's final 12 points.

UMass finished the game 24-28 from the foul line, the most points on free throws by a Richmond opponent since November 22, 2017 vs Louisiana (also 24).

"It's hard to defend the free throw line. You can't put them there," said Mooney.

Burton led Richmond with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his 21^st career double-double. Burton, a Massachusetts native, played in front of a group of more than 40 family and friends.

Center Neal Quinn registered a season-high 19 points and finished with six assists, four more than any other Spider.

"I definitely feel like this game I kind of did what I'm supposed to," said Quinn. "We added a few playcalls to help me get the ball and my teammates have done a great job of looking for me."

Despite the defensive lapses, Richmond's 76 points were its most in any Atlantic 10 game this season.

"When we got the ball down low, I think we got a lot of good shots, a lot of good opportunities and got to the line a lot," said Quinn. "If we can keep doing that and I can keep doing my part and play a little bit better, then I think we can win more games."

Richmond will visit Dayton on Saturday for a nationally televised game vs the Flyers. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 PM on CBS Sports Network.

"We're definitely going to go back and watch some film on Dayton. I know their big man is very good, so that will be a challenge for me," said Quinn. "But I'm looking forward to it."