Four Spider players reached double figures led by Terry Allen’s season-high 20 points as Richmond snapped its three-game skid against George Mason, 75-65.
Richmond (8-7, 1-1) picked up its seventh home win of the season and the first victory in A-10 play, while George Mason (6-8, 1-1) could not stop the Spiders in the first half.
UR shot 68.0 percent from the field in the first stanza, including a blistering 6-of-9 from three-point land. Richmond’s aggressiveness then contributed to an 18-of-20 performance from the foul line in the second half to hold the Spider lead.
Terry Allen scored a season-high 20 points with four rebounds, three assists, one block and a steal in the win. The Atlantic 10’s third-best free throw shooter proved his mettle at the line, hitting 7-of-8 free throws.
“We are pleased with a win. The last few games have been challenging for us and I think our guys showed their resiliency, not just in the game, but in how we approached practice this week,” head coach Chris Mooney said. “Our guys were positive, they stayed on point and I’m proud of them. George Mason is a good team. Shevon Thompson is obviously a handful, but I think we did some good things against him. Offensively, the first half was probably our best half all year. We moved the ball well.”
Senior Kendall Anthony posted his fifth-straight double-digit game with a 19-point effort with three threes. The senior captain has averaged 18.4 points per game over the last five, and he moved into third place all-time with his 236 career threes. Anthony is now five treys away from tying Jonathan Baker’s school record.
T.J. Cline continued his offensive efficiency with a 14-point game on 5-of-7 shooting, while ShawnDre’ Jones reached double figures with 13 points and three assists with no turnovers.
Alonzo Nelson-Ododa was strong inside as he made five blocks and grabbed five rebounds, while Deion Taylor tied his career high with five assists.
George Mason’s Shevon Thompson came into the game ranked in the top 10 in the country in rebounds and his 7’0” frame helped him to a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. However, the Spiders did force him into four turnovers.
Patrick Holloway provided outside scoring for the Patriots with 17 points and a team-high three three-pointers.
Once again, the Spiders won the turnover battle (12-8) and doubled Mason in team assists (16-8).
Both teams started slow in the first half with turnovers and missed shots keeping each offense out of rhythm. Thompson’s layup at the 10:28 mark brought George Mason to within 15-14. But it was all Spiders from there.
UR used a 27-9 run to close the half, hitting five threes in the process. Richmond shot 11-of-16 in the run and held Mason to just 4-of-15 shooting with four turnovers.
The Spider lead grew to as many as 24 after a layup from Nelson-Ododa, but the Patriots hung around and crept back into the game. George Mason cut the lead to 11 points at the 7:51 mark, but never made it to single digits thanks to accurate foul shooting from Richmond.
The Spiders finish the A-10 homestand with a Sunday matinee game against St. Bonaventure at 3 p.m. That game will be shown on CBS 6.3 in the Richmond area.
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Chris Graham
