Comeback Attempt Comes up Short on Senior Day

Saturday, March 4

Robins Center

12:30 PM

University of Richmond

14-17,7-11Atlantic 10

George Mason

19-12,11-7Atlantic 10

George Mason

Richmond

03/04/2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Thomas, Burton, Postgame Instant Highlights

RICHMOND, Va. — In the first 26 minutes of Saturday's game vs George Mason, the Richmond Spiders seemed to do almost everything wrong. Over the next 13 minutes, they seemed to do almost everything right. In the final minute, it was a little of both.

Richmond erased an 18-point second-half deficit and took a two-point lead with 32 seconds remaining only to lose in heartbreaking fashion, falling 62-60 to George Mason in front of a sold-out crowd at the Robins Center.

Tyler Burton, one of five players honored by the program in pregame a pregame Senior Day ceremony, hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds to play to give the Spiders a 60-58 lead. On George Mason's ensuing possession, Patriot guard Ronald Polite was fouled and made a pair of free throws to tie the game with 25 seconds left.

With a chance to take the final shot, Matt Grace took a pass in the high post and surveyed the wide side of the court. Following a brief pause, he spun towards the sideline, coming a little too close to Burton, who was being closely guarded by George Mason's Davonte Gaines. Gaines poked the ball free, collected it, and raced in for a layup with 2.8 seconds to go.

Burton grabbed the ball out of the basket and fired it to Isaiah Bigelow, who was streaking up the center of the court. Bigelow's running three-point attempt from just inside halfcourt hit off the backboard and dinged off the inside front of the rim before spinning out, preserving the Patriots stunning victory.

With the loss, the Spiders finished the regular season at 14-17 overall and 7-11 in the Atlantic 10. Saturday was Richmond's eighth loss by four or fewer points this season.

"It's always disappointing when you lose and certainly disappointing to lose on Senior Day, but there's a lot we can take from this game," said Interim Head Coach Peter Thomas. "George Mason is playing very well right now and they're a good team and we certainly had a chance to win the game."

Richmond trailed 37-26 at halftime and found itself down 49-31 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the second half. The Spiders would allow just two points over the next 10-plus minutes, scoring 20 of their own to tie the game at 51-51 with 4:05 to play.

"I think early on in the game we like to feel it out a little bit too much and that allows teams to gain confidence and sit down more on the defensive end and think that they can guard us," said Burton, who led Richmond with 17 points. "If we can just come out in attack mode from the jump ball — everybody, all five of us — it will help us a lot."

Bigelow sparked the Spiders with 10 points off the bench, the final three coming on a three-pointer with 1:12 to play that tied the game at 57.

"Isaiah and Marcus (Randolph) were excellent today," said Thomas. "They really brought a lot of energy and made shots and made plays and I think that's when we're at our best. Tyler is going to be Tyler most games. He's always going to produce. But when we do get production from the bench it really makes us a well-rounded team."

Next up for Richmond is the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Spiders, defending A-10 champions, will open play in the First Round on Tuesday.

"Our seed is going to be our seed, but none of that matters when you step out on the court," said Burton. "And it's whoever plays harder and scores more points wins. Coming into the tournament, it's one game at at time, one possession at a time. Us vs the other guys, whether they have the number 1 ranking, number 2 ranking, it doesn't matter. It's all about getting the win."