Spiders Overpower Saint Louis, Stay in First in A-10

Wednesday, February 28

Saint Louis, MO

8:00 PM

University of Richmond

21-7,13-2Atlantic 10

Saint Louis

10-18,3-12Atlantic 10

Richmond

Saint Louis

02/28/2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score AUDIO: Coach Mooney Postgame AUDIO: Jordan King Postgame

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Jordan King kept the Spiders offense afloat before halftime Wednesday night at Saint Louis. After intermission, he had more help than he needed as Richmond rolled to 48 second-half points and all five starters scored in double figures in an 80-64 win over the Billikens.

Richmond improved to 21-7 on the season and 13-2 in the Atlantic 10, matching the second most conference wins in a season in program history. With three A-10 games remaining, Richmond is in sole possession of first place ahead of Loyola and Dayton (both 12-3).

UR lost one its primary scoring threats early in the game, as Isaiah Bigelow scored Richmond's first five points then exited the game with two fouls at the 15:45 mark of the first half.

King and Tyler Harris didn't let the Spiders miss a beat. Harris came off the bench to play the remainder of the first half, grabbing a game-high seven rebounds before halftime. King exploded for 16 first-half points as Richmond built a 32-27 lead at the break.

"Tyler Harris gave us a huge lift in the first half, just an absolutely huge lift. I thought that was key," said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. "Every defensive rebound we got was Tyler's in the first half. "That was huge, because a couple of those were really contested rebounds."

"Obviously Jordan really carried us [in the first half]," Mooney added. "He scored and was so aggressive. It really helps because everyone starts to look at him and his aggressiveness is not just with the ball but also without the ball and he's cutting and moving and it helps a great deal."

The Spiders put the game away with a 10-0 run midway through the second half to take a 60-44 lead with 9:44 to play.

King added 11 more points after halftime to finish with 27, his seventh game with 25 or more points this season. His seven three-pointers were tied for the sixth most in a game in Spiders history.

"I just let the game come to me," said King. "I saw the two free throws go in first and I kind of just felt good from there."

King shared the scoring load with DeLonnie Hunt (all 11 of his points) and Neal Quinn (12 of his 14 points) over the final 20 minutes. Quinn also added six rebounds, seven assists, and no turnovers.

"We're always talking to Neal about being more aggressive," said Mooney. "He's just such a weapon. The more aggressive he is, the better the Spiders are."

Dji Bailey scored 11 points with a career-high nine rebounds, and Bigelow finished with 10 points. "He's been so great. I'm just so happy for him and proud of him," said Mooney of Bailey. "He lulls you to sleep to a certain extent mostly because of how well he knows how to play, the confidence he has, and then the court being spread for him being able to do some of those things he can do."

Richmond held the Billikens to 64 points, 10.5 below their season average, and just 38 percent shooting from the field (23-61). The Spiders are now 7-1 in A-10 road games this season after going 1-8 a year ago.

"They're old enough to know that it doesn't always go well," said Mooney of his team's composure. "You do everything right and the ball doesn't go in or you do everything right on defense and they make a shot. I do love that quality about this group."

Up next for the Spiders is the Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic against VCU Saturday at 6 PM in the Robins Center. The game, which is sold out, will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

"It's a great game, a rivalry game," said Mooney. "We just need to get our preparation right. We can put that talk to the side a little bit in terms of the regular season title and seeding [for the A-10 Championship]. We can put that to the side and just focus on this game.

"We've got to come ready to fight," said King. "It's Senior Night, and hopefully the guys are feeling good. The crowd is going to be amazing. We've just got to go out there and fight and play hard and let the result happen."