University of Richmond Athletics

VCU Tops Spiders With Barrage of First-Half Three-Pointers
02/25/2025 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. — VCU torched the nets at the Robins Center Tuesday, shooting 10-15 from three-point range in the first half to build an 18-point lead, more than enough for the Rams to withstand Richmond's late-game charge.
VCU's 78-60 win was its second over the Spiders this season as UR dropped to 10-19 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic 10.
After the Rams ran away from the Spiders early when the teams met in the Siegel Center on February 1, the game was tied 8-8 after five minutes Tuesday. Then VCU began to find its rhythm on offense, scoring 11 straight to take a 19-8 lead. A string of four straight makes from three-point range pushed the Rams advantage to 43-24 3:32 before half. VCU held a 51-33 lead at intermission, despite Richmond hitting 50% from the field (13-26) and 46% from three-point range (5-11) over the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, it was the Spiders defense that found its footing, holding VCU to 27 points and just 1-9 from three-point range.
"We made some adjustments to try to make it a little bit harder [on them]," said Richmond coach Chris Mooney.
"I think we did a really good job in the second half and kind of got on the same page and the press that we did put a little bit of pressure on them. I think that worked in our favor," added Dusan Neskovic, who led Richmond with 16 points. "I'm proud of how we played as a team in the second half defensively."
With VCU's shots finally not falling and UR's three-quarter court pressure having an impact (the Rams turned the ball over eight times in the second half), UR held VCU scoreless for nearly six minutes. During that span, Richmond scored 13 straight points, narrowing its deficit to 63-54 on a Neskovic three-pointer with 6:13 left.
Moments later, Neskovic drove to the rim and drew contact, but no foul was called. Mooney was whistled for a technical foul following the play. VCU converted both free throws and scored on the ensuing possession, building its lead back to 13.
"We earned our way back into the game, but we just weren't able to finish," said Mooney.
Neskovic's 16 points came on 6-9 shooting from the field. He also led Richmond with four assists, matching a career high.
He was joined in double figures by Mikkel Tyne and B. Artis White, both of whom scored 12 points in 40 minutes.
"I asked both our guards to play 40 minutes and they handled the [VCU] pressure well," said Mooney. Richmond's seven turnovers were its fewest vs VCU since the team's meeting on February 17, 2021 (five).
Richmond will return to action Saturday at Dayton with a 2 PM tip-off on CBS Sports Network.
VCU's 78-60 win was its second over the Spiders this season as UR dropped to 10-19 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic 10.
After the Rams ran away from the Spiders early when the teams met in the Siegel Center on February 1, the game was tied 8-8 after five minutes Tuesday. Then VCU began to find its rhythm on offense, scoring 11 straight to take a 19-8 lead. A string of four straight makes from three-point range pushed the Rams advantage to 43-24 3:32 before half. VCU held a 51-33 lead at intermission, despite Richmond hitting 50% from the field (13-26) and 46% from three-point range (5-11) over the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, it was the Spiders defense that found its footing, holding VCU to 27 points and just 1-9 from three-point range.
"We made some adjustments to try to make it a little bit harder [on them]," said Richmond coach Chris Mooney.
"I think we did a really good job in the second half and kind of got on the same page and the press that we did put a little bit of pressure on them. I think that worked in our favor," added Dusan Neskovic, who led Richmond with 16 points. "I'm proud of how we played as a team in the second half defensively."
With VCU's shots finally not falling and UR's three-quarter court pressure having an impact (the Rams turned the ball over eight times in the second half), UR held VCU scoreless for nearly six minutes. During that span, Richmond scored 13 straight points, narrowing its deficit to 63-54 on a Neskovic three-pointer with 6:13 left.
Moments later, Neskovic drove to the rim and drew contact, but no foul was called. Mooney was whistled for a technical foul following the play. VCU converted both free throws and scored on the ensuing possession, building its lead back to 13.
"We earned our way back into the game, but we just weren't able to finish," said Mooney.
Neskovic's 16 points came on 6-9 shooting from the field. He also led Richmond with four assists, matching a career high.
He was joined in double figures by Mikkel Tyne and B. Artis White, both of whom scored 12 points in 40 minutes.
"I asked both our guards to play 40 minutes and they handled the [VCU] pressure well," said Mooney. Richmond's seven turnovers were its fewest vs VCU since the team's meeting on February 17, 2021 (five).
Richmond will return to action Saturday at Dayton with a 2 PM tip-off on CBS Sports Network.
Team Stats
VCU
UR
FG%
.560
.444
3FG%
.458
.400
FT%
.846
.571
RB
34
21
TO
11
7
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
Mooney, Walz Before 1st Practice
Friday, September 26
AJ Lopez Returns to the Robins Center
Tuesday, September 23
Chris Mooney Mic'd Up
Thursday, September 11
David Thomas is Already Learning at Richmond
Friday, September 05