University of Richmond Athletics

Spiders Drop Charlotte in ESPN Events Invitational Finale
11/28/2025 | Men's Basketball
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — In their final game at the Wide World of Sports, the Spiders led former A-10 rival Charlotte wire-to-wire, picking up a 71-66 win in the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational Friday.
Richmond led by as many as 12 in the first half, built its lead to 18 in the second half, and withstood a Charlotte rally in the final minutes to improve to 6-1 on the season, matching its best record through seven games in 21 seasons under Chris Mooney.
AJ Lopez led the Spiders with 17 points, and Jaden Daughtry added 15 as all 11 Spiders to enter the game scored, with all playing between 12 and 20 minutes over the course of the game.
"Both of them have a unique ability to score," said Mooney of Lopez and Daughtry, who transferred to Richmond this offseason. "I think the best part of them coming to Richmond is we can really help them with these other parts of their game — their fluidity and their sense and where to go. But the things they can do really can't be taught.
"AJ has such a good change of pace and change of speed. Jaden is the same, and the power that he plays with, especially when he's in some kind of open area … they're just really difficult to defend."
Jonathan Beagle's 10 rebounds were a season high and twice as many as any other player in the game. Richmond outrebounded the 49ers 37-28, winning the rebounding battle for the seventh time in their seven games this season.
"I love that kid. He's one of my favorite Spiders we've ever had," said Mooney of Beagle. "He's the best teammate. His energy, his desire to win, his love of the team, it's just awesome. And he was great today."
Mikkel Tyne had a season-high four assists, one fewer than the entire Charlotte team combined (five). Charlotte's five assists were its fewest since Feb. 11, 2023 (at North Texas) and the fewest by a Spiders non-conference opponent since Dec. 10, 2022, when Drake had five in an 82-52 UR win.
"I really thought our defense was tremendous, right from the beginning of the game," said Mooney. "It was hard for them to get easy baskets, and we did a really good job on the backboard."
Richmond has now won 11 of its last 15 games vs Charlotte, its Atlantic 10 rival from 2005 to 2013.
At 6-1 this season, Richmond has eclipsed its non-conference win total from last season, when UR went 5-8 in non-conference play.
The Spiders will stay on the road, traveling to Nashville to take on Belmont Wednesday at 7:30 PM on ESPN Plus.
Richmond led by as many as 12 in the first half, built its lead to 18 in the second half, and withstood a Charlotte rally in the final minutes to improve to 6-1 on the season, matching its best record through seven games in 21 seasons under Chris Mooney.
AJ Lopez led the Spiders with 17 points, and Jaden Daughtry added 15 as all 11 Spiders to enter the game scored, with all playing between 12 and 20 minutes over the course of the game.
"Both of them have a unique ability to score," said Mooney of Lopez and Daughtry, who transferred to Richmond this offseason. "I think the best part of them coming to Richmond is we can really help them with these other parts of their game — their fluidity and their sense and where to go. But the things they can do really can't be taught.
"AJ has such a good change of pace and change of speed. Jaden is the same, and the power that he plays with, especially when he's in some kind of open area … they're just really difficult to defend."
Jonathan Beagle's 10 rebounds were a season high and twice as many as any other player in the game. Richmond outrebounded the 49ers 37-28, winning the rebounding battle for the seventh time in their seven games this season.
"I love that kid. He's one of my favorite Spiders we've ever had," said Mooney of Beagle. "He's the best teammate. His energy, his desire to win, his love of the team, it's just awesome. And he was great today."
Mikkel Tyne had a season-high four assists, one fewer than the entire Charlotte team combined (five). Charlotte's five assists were its fewest since Feb. 11, 2023 (at North Texas) and the fewest by a Spiders non-conference opponent since Dec. 10, 2022, when Drake had five in an 82-52 UR win.
"I really thought our defense was tremendous, right from the beginning of the game," said Mooney. "It was hard for them to get easy baskets, and we did a really good job on the backboard."
Richmond has now won 11 of its last 15 games vs Charlotte, its Atlantic 10 rival from 2005 to 2013.
At 6-1 this season, Richmond has eclipsed its non-conference win total from last season, when UR went 5-8 in non-conference play.
The Spiders will stay on the road, traveling to Nashville to take on Belmont Wednesday at 7:30 PM on ESPN Plus.
Team Stats
UR
CLT
FG%
.458
.431
3FG%
.333
.231
FT%
.588
.667
RB
37
28
TO
11
9
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Charlotte Postgame - Mooney, Lopez
Friday, November 28
Furman Postgame - Chris Mooney
Thursday, November 27
Men's Basketball Highlights vs. Gardner-Webb
Saturday, November 22
Men's Basketball Postgame - Gardner-Webb
Saturday, November 22



















