Spiders Drop Overtime Heartbreaker to Rhode Island

Saturday, January 11

Robins Center

6 PM

University of Richmond

7-10,2-2Atlantic 10

Rhode Island

13-3,2-2Atlantic 10

OT 1

Rhode Island

Richmond

01/11/2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Mooney, Neskovic Postgame Instant Highlights

RICHMOND, Va. — Rhode Island guard Sebastian Thomas' spinning floater in the lane with 23 seconds remaining in overtime led the Rams to a 67-64 victory over the Spiders Saturday at the Robins Center. With the game clock ticking down, Mike Walz's bid for a career-high third three-pointer glanced off the rim, securing Rhode Island's first win in its last seven games vs Richmond.

"I thought that we could have continued to run a little bit of offense but [Mike] felt comfortable," said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. "He had made one similar a few minutes earlier on the other side of the key."

The loss dropped Richmond to 7-10 overall and 2-2 in the Atlantic 10 this season. Richmond led for nearly 37 minutes of game time, including by as many as 14 in the first half before URI closed the period on a 9-2 run to narrow its deficit to 25-18 at the break.

"I thought we played really, really well and inspired in the first half and I was hoping we could have a few more points," said Mooney. "Our defense was really excellent. We probably just needed a few more points there. [We were] up seven? It felt like maybe we had played better than that."

The Rhode Island momentum continued into the second half, with the Rams outscoring Richmond 11-3 over the opening five minutes to take their first lead at 29-28 with 14:56 remaining.

Spiders forward Dusan Neskovic gave Richmond a two-point lead three times in the final 150 seconds of regulation — with a pair of free throws at 2:16, a jumper in the lane at 1:46, and three free throws with 52 seconds to play — but Rhode Island answered each time. The teams were tied at 55 at the end of regulation.

In overtime, Thomas scored 9 of URI's 12 points, including the game-winning field goal.

"He does this a lot. He's very hard to defend and puts you in a lot of difficult situations," said Mooney.

Neskovic finished with a career-high 28 points and went 12-12 from the foul line, joining Cedrick Lindsay (14-14 on February 16, 2013 vs St. Bonaventure) as the only Spiders to go 12-12 or better from the line in the last 20 years.

Richmond was playing its first game since it announced that team captain and leading scorer point guard DeLonnie Hunt would miss eight weeks after fracturing his foot at George Mason Wednesday. In his place, UR started 6'8" forward Apostolos Roumoglou. It was one of several new-look lineups the Spiders tried throughout the game.

"For a long time, we've been very fortunate to have great guards and our guards have to improve," said Mooney. "We always have appreciated that ball handling and the security of the ball and the quickness that brings, but this team might have to play a little bit differently and a little bit bigger."

"It's really hard without DeLonnie knowing how much attention he draws, the security he gives us on offense and defense," added Neskovic. "It's going to be hard for any team to make adjustments this quick. We have some guys who haven't played some positions. … It's all new to them. It will take some time to adjust to that."

At 2-2 in the A-10 play, Richmond is now among a group of four teams, including Rhode Island (13-3, 2-2), tied for seventh in the conference.

"We have to be better," said Mooney. " There are certain things that can impact the game in a great way and everybody has to be able to do those things. It's frustrating for all of us, losing the game. We have to be able to do those things at certain times, whether that's making a basket or making the right switch or grabbing a key rebound, I think all those things would have helped us."

The Spiders will travel to St. Bonaventure this week for a Wednesday matchup with the Bonnies. Tip time is scheduled for 7 PM on ESPN Plus.