Short-handed Spiders Secure Win vs Loyola Chicago

Saturday, February 11

Robins Center

4:00 PM

University of Richmond

13-13,6-7Atlantic 10

Loyola Chicago

8-16,2-10Atlantic 10

Loyola Chicago

Richmond

02/11/2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Mooney, Gustavson postgame Instant Highlights

RICHMOND, Va. — Despite a double-digit lead and an offense that seemed to be operating at peak efficiency, things looked grim for the Richmond Spiders with 6:34 left in the first half Saturday vs Loyola Chicago.

Center Neal Quinn lay grasping his left ankle under the Loyola basket, moments after his layup gave Richmond a 29-19 lead. Quinn, who already had eight points and a pair of assists, had been the focal point for Richmond's offense in the game's first stanza. He was already playing extended minutes due to a foot injury that kept sixth man Isaiah Bigelow in street clothes and a scary fall that had sent starting guard Dji Bailey to the locker room moments earlier.

With Quinn unable to return due to a sprained ankle, Head Coach Chris Mooney inserted freshman reserve center Mike Walz into the game for his first extended first-half minutes of the season. With Walz playing the role of distributor, the Spiders offense didn't miss a beat, racking up 14 points in the final six minutes of the half with Walz registering three assists. Richmond led 43-35 at halftime, enough for the Spiders to withstand a late charge by Loyola and hold on for a 74-71 win in front of a sellout crowd at the Robins Center.

"I think this is a good reminder for everyone that, 'hey – you never know' and you need to be ready when your number is called," said Mooney. "I thought we showed some grit playing the game without Isaiah Bigelow and playing much of the game without Neal Quinn. We had other guys come in and step up."

One of those guys was grad student Andre Gustavson, who chipped in a career-high 15 points and secured five rebounds, tied for the most among Spiders.

"He played a terrific all-around game," said Mooney. "He's a very aggressive driver. He's a very good cutter. He's a player who doesn't care about scoring or statistics, so for him to be able to get in that column with a great day is oftentimes just based on his aggression and how good of a cutter and a driver he is and I think that showed up in a big way for him today."

Gustavson's efforts complemented a big day for Tyler Burton, who led all scorers with 23 points while hitting eight of his 12 shots from the field. Burton moved into 15th place on Richmond's career scoring list and eclipsed the 1,500 career point mark on a free throw with 1:07 remaining.

"At times he was all over the court," said Mooney of Burton, who had the game's most important defensive play, a block at the rim with 52 seconds left to preserve a 71-68 Richmond lead. "He draws fouls regularly, so he puts pressure on the defense that way. The blocked shot that he had was key. And then he's a very good free throw shooter, so you're comfortable when he's in the game as the third guard."

The win was Richmond's third this season in games decided by five points or less, compared to seven losses. Asked about the difference in the Spiders winning a close contest Saturday after losing a 107-105 decision to George Washington in double overtime Wednesday, Mooney pointed to the team's defense down the stretch.

"At GW on Wednesday, we really executed [offensively] extremely well at the end of regulation, at the end of the first overtime, at the end of the second overtime, but they also made shots. Today, we didn't make shots but we were very good defensively those last four minutes and were able to show some grit and some toughness," said Mooney. "Tyler had the blocked shot at the rim and then we stole two passes and then on one of the final possessions Andre played great defense on [Loyola's Braden] Norris, who's a terrific three-point shooter."

With the win, the Spiders evened their record at 13-13 this season and improved to 6-7 in the Atlantic 10.

Richmond will visit La Salle on Wednesday at 7 PM. The game will be streamed on ESPN Plus.