Richmond Leader

Spiders win streak snapped at St. Bonaventure

A tough shooting night and a tide of turnovers were too much to overcome for the Richmond Spiders in a 71-63 loss Saturday at St. Bonaventure, their first defeat in their last four games. The loss dropped Richmond to 10-8 on the season and 3-2 in the Atlantic 10.
 
The Spiders didn't score in the game's first five minutes, and incredibly, when they did, it gave them the lead. Tyler Burton's transition layup with 15:00 remaining in the first half made the score 2-0 in favor of the Spiders, ending a five-minute span in which both teams combined for 10 turnovers and shot 0-10 from the floor.
 
"We had some opportunities in transition," said Spiders Head Coach Chris Mooney of UR's early offensive struggles. "I thought we made a couple of plays in transition – committed a charge – that you can't have. You have to take those opportunities and try to get downhill before they have a set defense. … Obviously, it was a good defensive start by both teams but a frustrating start on the offensive end."
 
When Richmond finally found its offensive rhythm, it came from deep. Guard Jason Roche and forward Matt Grace each hit a pair of three-pointers late in the half as the Spiders — held to 15 points in the game's first 14-plus minutes — scored 14 points in the final 5-plus minutes of the first half to take a 29-23 lead at halftime.
 
"We struggled offensively at the start, but the big thing for us was defense and I thought we were playing really well defensively," said Grace. "We held them to 23 points in the first half and that was good for us even though we weren't scoring the ball.  I think we executed really well in the first half."
 
But St. Bonaventure found gaps in the Spiders defense after halftime. The Bonnies first used a 12-4 run to erase a 31-23 deficit, tying the game at 35-35 with 13:10 remaining. Then, a 12-0 spurt turned a tie game into a 51-39 Bonnies lead with just under eight minutes to play.
 
"They made a lot of tough shots and got in a good rhythm and we weren't able to stop them," said Grace.
 
The Spiders rallied to cut the lead to four with just under three minutes to play, but weren't able to keep pace with the Bonnies, who pulled away for the 71-63 win.
 
"We turned the ball over far too much," said Mooney of Richmond's 15 turnovers, tied for their second most in a game this season. "Even some of the ones we didn't have turnovers, there were plays where we fortunate [to not turn the ball over].
 
Richmond also managed just 20 points in the paint, tied for its third-fewest in a game this year. "I thought our defense was good, and the first half was excellent, but on offense you have to get some points in the paint. You have to convert those opportunities in transition. We just didn't do enough of that to give ourselves easy baskets."
 
Grace led Richmond with 16 points, while Tyler Burton scored 15. Isaiah Bigelow added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
The Spiders will return to the Robins Center on Tuesday to take on Rhode Island at 7 PM. The game will be broadcast on MASN2 and ESPN Plus. 

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