Quinn's 21 Not Enough For Spiders at VCU

Friday, February 24

Richmond, VA

7:00 PM

University of Richmond

14-15,7-9Atlantic 10

VCU

22-7,13-3Atlantic 10

Richmond

VCU

02/24/2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. — Facing one of the nation's best defensive teams, the Richmond Spiders accomplished their primary offensive objective Friday night at VCU.

"The pressure is so much on the perimeter that when you do throw it in (to the post), it relaxes a little bit. Neal (Quinn) was able to go in there and score and slow the game down a little bit," said Interim Head Coach Peter Thomas. "I thought when we were more deliberate, we were able to get the ball to Neal and he was able to take his time. They never did bring a double, because he's a good passer, and he was able to score in there."

The plan to get the ball inside to Quinn worked. He finished with a season-high 21 points on 7-13 shooting from the field and drew seven fouls, keeping the Rams frontcourt in foul trouble.

But not much else went the Spiders way in the Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic. With leading scorer and rebounder Tyler Burton on the bench in foul trouble, the Rams closed the first half on a 26-6 run to break open the game and withstood a late Richmond rally to win 73-58 at the Siegel Center Friday night.

"The biggest thing that hurt us in that first half was offensive rebounds," said Thomas of the difference makers during VCU's 26-6 stretch. "And a couple of those offensive rebounds led to some big plays. … Those kind of plays in this environment really spark them and get them going."

The Rams had 13 offensive rebounds at halftime, a total that matched the most offensive boards the Spiders had surrendered in any A-10 game entering the night.

After halftime, Richmond allowed just a pair of offensive rebounds, one of the reasons the Spiders were able to keep the game competitive after the VCU lead ballooned to as many as 24 points midway through the second half.

Another was the play of Burton, who scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half. Late in the game, he passed Kenny Atkinson (1,549 points) for 14^th on Richmond's career scoring list, ending the night with 1,556 career points.

Burton went to the bench with his second foul with 15:22 to play in the first half and the Spiders leading by three. Richmond built its lead to 17-11 before VCU scored 26 of the final 32 points of the opening half, taking a 37-23 lead into the locker room.

The only player to score more than Burton after halftime on either team was Quinn, who registered 15 of his 21 points in the second half. Friday was the eighth 20-point game of Quinn's career but his first since transferring to Richmond from Lafayette last offseason.

"I knew that if we were going to win this game I had to have a great game," said Quinn. "I wish I could have done more in the first (half). I wish I came out as strong as I did in the first as I did the second. All in all, we fought hard on the road in a very difficult environment to play in. I think there's a lot of positives to look at, but we definitely need to be better."

The loss dropped the Spiders to 14-15 this season and 7-9 in the Atlantic 10. Richmond will conclude its regular-season A-10 slate next week with a road game at Saint Joseph's Wednesday and a Saturday matchup with George Mason at the Robins Center.