Belmont Too Much for Spiders at Robins Center Saturday

Saturday, December 14

Robins Center

6 PM

University of Richmond

4-6,0-0Atlantic 10

Belmont

9-2,1-0MVC

Belmont

Richmond

Belmont Too Much for Spiders at Robins Center Saturday

12/14/2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Mooney, Walz Postgame Instant Highlights

RICHMOND, Va. — Despite their best offensive effort of the young season, the Richmond Spiders couldn't match Belmont from the field or three-point range Saturday, falling to the Bruins 93-86. Belmont made 13 three-pointers and shot 57.9 percent from the field, the best for any Spiders opponent since December 22, 2020 (Hofstra – 60.4 percent).

"I thought the rhythm that they started the game with was a little bit too easy. Their shots were contested but not really tightly contested," said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. "They're a good offensive team and they pass the ball and move well. [Jonathan] Pierre is a pretty special player and that really gave us trouble."

Belmont's Jonathan Pierre scored a game-high 28 points and made five of his nine shots from three-point range while adding seven rebounds and nine assists.

Richmond recorded its highest point total and shooting percentage (50.0) against a D-I opponent this season. The Spiders were led by DeLonnie Hunt and Dusan Neskovic, who both scored 18 points. All of Neskovic's scoring came in the second half as UR erased a nine-point Belmont lead before the Bruins reasserted control in the final minutes.

Belmont opened a 13-6 lead five minutes into the game and led by as many as 11 in the first half before UR scored the final five points before intermission to trail 40-34 at the break.

The Spiders tied with game at 44 four minutes into the second half. Following a three-pointer by Mike Walz, Dusan Neskovic scored 12 of Richmond's next 15 points to put UR ahead by as many as three halfway through the period.

But Pierre answered with a three-point play in the lane and a pair of free throws. Minutes later, his three-pointer doubled Belmont's lead to six with 5:26 remaining. After Richmond closed the gap to three, a Pierre jumper with 1:14 to play gave the Bruins more than enough breathing room. Pierre sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining, dropping Richmond to 4-6 on the season.

"A lof of times we won't switch with our center, but we switched a little bit more with our center just to give us protection against driving," said Mooney. "They're an aggressive team but they're also able to keep passing the ball around and find an edge that's created by the ball movement and the player movement. In every game we try a few things that might help us.

"[Pierre] can pass the ball from one side of the court to the other so fast. Usually it takes a little bit longer. Your rotation is there. You're a little bit more set. But he was able to really pass the ball around and make it difficult for us on that particular rotation – when had the ball on one side of the court to the other."

Hunt and Neskovic were two of the six Spiders to score in double figures, Richmond's most since March 18, 2015 vs St. Francis Brooklyn (also six).

Jason Roche finished with 13 points, while Walz matched his career high with 12 points and led UR with five assists (also a career high). Jonathan Beagle and Mikkel Tyne both scored 10 points.

Richmond will return to action Wednesday on the road at William & Mary. The game will be broadcast on FloSports and ESPN Richmond radio.