Spiders Stun 16th-Ranked Dayton as Win Streak Reaches 10

Saturday, January 27

Robins Center

6:00 PM

University of Richmond

15-5,7-0Atlantic 10

#16 Dayton

16-3,6-1Atlantic 10

Dayton

Richmond

Spiders Stun 16th-Ranked Dayton as Win Streak Reaches 10

01/27/2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Mooney, Quinn Postgame Instant Highlights AUDIO: Coach Mooney Postgame AUDIO: Players Postgame

RICHMOND, Va. — The Spiders had a chance at history Saturday evening in the Robins Center. All they needed to do was get by the hottest team in all of college basketball.

Richmond entered with a nine-game win streak and a shot at posting 10 straight wins for the first time since 1935. But Dayton, ranked 16^th in this week's AP Top 25, had won 13 straight games prior to Saturday, the longest active streak in all of Division I.

Fueled by a rowdy capacity crowd, the Spiders prevailed 69-64 in a battle of A-10 unbeatens, moving into sole possession of first place in the conference at 7-0 and improving to 15-5 overall.

"A great college basketball atmosphere, and a great game," said Spiders coach Chris Mooney after leading his team to a win vs a ranked opponent for the 16^th time during his tenure at Richmond (tied with Dayton for the most top-25 wins in the A-10 over that span).

"You don't get many opportunities. You certainly don't get many opportunities at home," said Mooney of having the chance to play a ranked team. "We've had a number of [wins vs top-25 teams] now, and it's something that we're really proud of. To be the kind of program that can be solid enough and good enough and when that opportunity comes you can take advantage of it, that's something we're very proud of."

Richmond is 11-0 at home this season, the longest single-season home win streak in program history.

The Spiders held Dayton to a season-low 34 percent shooting from the field (20-59) and limited the Flyers to their third-fewest points in a game this season.

"The crowd was another defender on the floor for us. That was amazing," said Spiders center Neal Quinn.

But the Robins Center was silent early, as Dayton scored the game's first nine points and Richmond missed its first 11 shots from the field.

"It felt like it was 9-0 for what felt like a long time, but we really started to defend them," said Mooney. "We had some shots that were good and open and clean and we didn't make them. It happens. In reality, you'd rather it happen at the beginning of the game. I thought as long as we were playing tough and we were moving it's going to balance out and we're going to make some shots."

Quinn found Jordan King on a cut to the basket for a layup to start a 7-0 Spiders run, then three straight field goals by Quinn tied the game at 13 with less than four minutes left in the opening half. A 7-0 run gave Richmond a 20-15 lead at half after UR held Dayton to just three field goals and six points in the final 14 minutes of the opening frame.

"That was an amazing defensive effort by everybody involved," said Quinn. "All the players. All the coaches. A phenomenal scout against a top-16 team in the country and they had 15 at the half. Unbelievable stuff."

Both teams found an offensive rhythm after halftime, with Dayton using a 7-0 run to retake the lead at 32-29 with 14:54 remaining. With Quinn and Dayton's All-Conference center DaRon Holmes sidelined by foul trouble, neither team was able to break the game open using a variety of small-ball lineups.

Later in the half, with Quinn back in the game, the Spiders scored seven straight to take a 56-47 lead with 3:22 to play. Dayton answered with a six-point possession, with Holmes making a free throw and then a three-pointer after the Flyers rebounded his second attempt from the line. When the Spiders were called for a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds attempt, Dayton drove and was fouled, tacking on two more free throws.

With their momentum gone, the Spiders turned to King, who entered the game second in the A-10 in scoring behind Holmes, who was switched onto King following a screen. King drove directly at Holmes, a two-time All-A-10 Defensive Team selection, then stopped, pivoted and drained a high-arching fallaway jumper to push Richmond's lead to 58-53 with 1:50 remaining.

"[Holmes] contested it as well as you possibly could. That was a big-time shot," said Mooney. "You're going to need plays like that to win a game like this."

Shortly thereafter, DeLonnie Hunt found Dji Bailey all alone in the frontcourt for an uncontested dunk that extended Richmond's lead to seven with 40 seconds left. From there, the Spiders were able to close the game at the free throw line, where they made 18 of their 19 final attempts.

The win was Richmond's sixth in its last seven home games vs top-25 opponents, a stretch that goes back to 2009. With the win, UR equaled its win total and conference win total from last season (15-18, 7-11).

King led Richmond with 17 points, while Isaiah Bigelow contributed a career-high 15 rebounds to go with his 12 points, nine of them coming from the foul line (9-10).

Bailey scored 12 points, Hunt added 10, and Quinn had 11 along with a team-high four assists as all five Spiders starters reached double figures.

Richmond's 10 straight wins are tied for the second-longest active win streak in Division I. The Spiders will look for 11 in a row Wednesday evening at Fordham (7 PM on ESPN Plus).