Richmond went on a 14-0 run and held La Salle without a field goal for 10 minutes of the second half, but ultimately came up short in a 64-62 road defeat at La Salle’s Tom Gola Arena on Thursday night.
The Spiders (12-10, 5-4) outshot and outplayed the Explorers (13-9, 5-4) throughout the second half, but could not tie the game after coming from 16 points down.
Senior Kendall Anthony tallied a game-high 23 points, his second-straight 20-point performance, and nearly willed the Spiders to victory with his aggressive drives to the basket during UR’s comeback.
Junior Alonzo Nelson-Ododa tied his career high with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench. He shot 6-of-7 from the field and also made three assists and two blocks. Terry Allen finished with 13 points, while Trey Davis dished six assists, grabbed four steals and three rebounds.
“We played one of our better second halves of the season, especially defensively,” head coach Chris Mooney said. “But we didn’t start with enough fire in the first 10 minutes of the game. La Salle did some new things against us, but we needed to adjust our energy level much sooner.”
La Salle’s Jerrell Wright led four Explorers in double figures with his 15 points. Steve Zack tallied a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Price (13) and Khalid Lewis (11) also reached double figures.
Richmond outscored the Explorers in the paint, 34-26, and also converted 15 fast break points off nine steals, a new season high. UR had 19 assists on its 24 field goals while winning the turnover battle, 15-12.
The game featured a number of extended runs from both squads. La Salle scored the game’s first 10 points, but the Spiders used a 9-1 to cut the margin to 23-21 at the 7:35 mark of the first half. The Explorers then scored the next 12 points in a row and hit their only three of the game right before halftime for a 40-26 lead at the break.
After La Salle scored two buckets in the opening stretch, Richmond began to dominate the second half. The Spiders’ defense held the Explorers without a field from the 16:51 mark to the 6:52 mark. On the offensive end, Richmond scored 14 points in a row with transition baskets and dominant post play.
A layup and foul by Anthony cut the margin to 44-42 with 10:21 left and then two free throws from ShawnDre’ Jones brought it to 45-44 three minutes later. However, La Salle’s offense regained momentum to mount a 10-0 run and make it a 55-44 contest.
The Spiders refused to go away and slowly chipped at the lead with good clock management and several close plays on steal attempts in a full-court press. A layup from Allen with 21 seconds left cut the lead to three, but Lewis was able to convert one free throw and keep the Spiders at bay for a final of 64-62.
Richmond returns to the Robins Center on Sunday for a matinee matchup with Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m. That game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.
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