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Richmond toughts out 56-48 win over George Washington

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ur-spiders1Richmond grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to spur a 56-48 win over George Washington on Saturday afternoon in the sold-out Robins Center.

With 7,201 fans clad in red for UR’s “Red Out” game, the Spiders (15-12, 8-6) grabbed their third win in four games to pass George Washington (17-10, 7-7) in the Atlantic 10 standings.

Facing a team that beat Richmond early in the year largely because of rebounds, the Spiders showed their toughness on Saturday, outscoring the Colonials 13-11 in second chance points and drawing nearly even in total rebounds, 32-31.

T.J. Cline scored a team-high 16 points with another stellar performance from deep, hitting four threes for the second game in a row. ShawnDre’ Jones continued his hot shooting, going 6-of-10 from the field for 14 points and a game-high four assists.

Terry Allen picked up his second double-double in as many games, pouring in 12 points along with 10 rebounds and four steals.

As a team, Richmond had 11 steals for the second-consecutive game, tying the season high. They forced 14 turnovers while only committing six themselves. The Spiders entered the game ninth in the nation in fewest turnovers (9.9) and 17th in turnover margin (+3.42).

“I’m really proud of the way that we battled tonight,” head coach Chris Mooney said. “We had a great home atmosphere and we really fought hard defensively against a good George Washington team. ShawnDre’ [Jones] and T.J. [Cline] hit some big shots in big moments for us.”

The Spiders limited GW’s leading scorer, Patricio Garino, to just four points on 1-of-6 shooting. Kethan Savage scored 18, while Kevin Larsen had 16 points.

George Washington shot just 2-of-10 from long range, while Richmond hit six big threes. The Colonial turnovers also helped UR scored 14 points off turnovers and 11 in transition.

UR used a 9-0 run early in the first half that was capped by Jones’ transition layup to build a 13-4 lead. GW answered with a more aggressive offensive approach and built a 23-19 with 3:07 left in the first. But the Spiders made their way to the free throw line to cut into the lead and then a timely three from Cline gave the Spiders a 27-25 lead at the break.

After GW scored tied the game to start the second half, the Spiders used a three by Cline, slicing layup from Kendall Anthony and then a steal and transition three from Josh Jones to build a seven-point lead and get the home crowd rocking.

The lead reached as many as 11 before the Spiders cooled off and George Washington climbed back into it. Five points from Savage made it a 46-44 game with 5:56remaining, but Cline responded with a big layup and the Colonials never made it to a one-possession margin for the remainder.

A run-out home run pass to ShawnDre’ Jones in the final minute helped seal UR’s 56-48 victory.

The Spiders will now look towards Wednesday night with an eye on the nationally-ranked VCU Rams in the Bank of America Capital City Classic. The sold-out Robins Center will play host to the battle for Richmond on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

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