Richmond falls to #1 seed Kansas in Sweet 16

Richmond fell to top-seeded Kansas, 77-57, in the NCAA Sweet 16 Friday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Senior Justin Harper led Richmond with 22 points.

The hot-shooting Kansas took the wind out of Richmond’s sails early, with a 14-2 run to take a 31-9 lead with 6:35 remaining in first frame. Richmond would get to within 37-22 after a Harper three but trailed at the break 41-22.

Richmond was led by Harper’s 10 first-half points, while Kansas was buoyed by Brady Morningstar’s 12 tallies. Kansas shot 50 percent from the field (16-for-32), while Richmond came in at 29 percent accuracy (9-for-31).

Richmond would outscore the Jayhawks 10-4 early in the second half, including six unanswered to cut the deficit to 47-32 with 16:19 left. But Kansas rattled off six points in a row to retake command.

Richmond ended its memorable run with one of the best seasons in program history. Richmond recorded the most wins in school history (29) and won its first-ever Atlantic 10 title. The Spiders made their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16, first since 1988, and won nine games in a row for the first time since the 1990-91 season.

Richmond native Harper had a team-best 22 tallies and nine boards. Harper ended his four-year career with 1,457 points. Harper scored in double-figures 70 times in his career, including 35 this season. Harper was an All-Conference first team selection and had 18 20-point or better games this for his career, 14 this season.

Kevin Anderson followed Harper with 13 tallies and three assists. The All-American candidate Anderson finished his impressive career with 2,165 points, good for second on Richmond’s all-time list. Anderson was a three-time All Conference first team selection, and this year’s 2011 A-10 Tournament MVP. Anderson finished his career top-5 in points, assists, steals, field goals made and minutes per game.

Kevin Smith had six points for the Spiders while Geriot had three tallies and three dishes. Darrius Garrett had four points and four boards off the bench.

Fifth-year senior Geriot ended his storied career with 1,389 points and 269 assists.

Richmond made its second-straight NCAA appearance and ninth in school history. Richmond made back-to-back NCAA appearances for the first time since the 1990-91 season and have the most wins (8) as the No. 12 seed in NCAA Tournament history.

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