Spiders Nipped by Louisiana Tech

Tuesday, November 26

Fort Myers, FL

3 PM

University of Richmond

3-4,0-0Atlantic 10

Louisiana Tech

6-0,0-0CUSA

Louisiana Tech

Richmond

Apostolos Roumoglou gets back on defense after a three-pointer

11/26/2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After Richmond held Louisiana Tech scoreless for more than six minutes, the Bulldogs scored the deciding points vs the Spiders in the final seconds Tuesday afternoon, making three free throws with seconds to play to escape with a 65-62 win. A loose ball foul was whistled on Richmond with 2.4 seconds to play, sending Bulldogs big man Daniel Batcho to the line for the game-winning free throw.

Richmond tied the game at 62 with 1:32 remaining on a layup by DeLonnie Hunt and had a potential go-ahead field goal by Jonathan Beagle spin off the rim with 53 seconds to play. The win moved Louisiana Tech, preseason favorites in Conference USA, to 6-0, while Richmond fell to 3-4.

"I thought that was a great game against a very good team," said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. "I thought our defense was really excellent. I thought our energy level was outstanding. There are some execution things down the stretch which is a little more understandable but in terms of competing I thought the whole game was very good."

UR held Louisiana Tech to its lowest point total (65, down from 76) and field goal percentage (40.4) of the season.

"We're a great defensive team and we showed it tonight," said Mike Walz, who played a major role in limiting Batcho, the preseason player of the year in C-USA, to 13 points.

Richmond was led by DeLonnie Hunt, who finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-16 shooting. He joined Terry Allen (2015) as the only Spiders with three games with 25 or more points in November over the last 20 years.

"He was great. We are asking him to do a whole lot. He's really kind of anchoring the defense - Jason Roche and him I would say — and he's obviously our captain," said Mooney.

Richmond trailed 24-16 7:48 before halftime but closed the half on a 19-3 run to take a 35-27 lead at the break. Richmond was rallied by six straight points from Hunt coming on a pair of layups and a pair of free throws.

"We really found something," said Walz, who found Hunt on a back-door cut for the basket that started the Richmond run. "That's what Richmond basketball is."

Louisiana Tech tied the game at 45 with 12:44 to left and led by eight at 62-54 after a pair of Batcho free throws with 6:05 remaining. They wouldn't score again until Batcho's game-winning free throw with two seconds on the clock. During that span, UR forced six straight missed shots by the Bulldogs.

"We're a tough team. We're a gritty team. We care a lot," said Walz. "We've got talented players. and I'm excited to see what the rest of these 30 or so games look like for us."

The Spiders will conclude their appearance at the Gulf Coast Showcase Wednesday at 6 PM against Ball State. The game will be streamed on ESPN Plus and air on ESPN Richmond radio.