Grant Golden, Tyler Burton and Nathan Cayo combined for 49 points Friday at the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout as Richmond posted a season-high 46 points in the paint in an 83-74 win over NC State.
Golden led the Spiders with 19 points and was named the game’s MVP.
Right from the tip, Richmond made clear that it planned to own the paint. The Spiders first eight field goals came on shots from inside the lane. But the Wolfpack, who entered the night shooting just 30.5 percent from three-point range, made their first five three-pointers as they built a 23-15 lead over the game’s first seven minutes.
Cayo led the Richmond response, exploding for 14 points in the first 20 minutes to help Richmond build a 39-35 lead at half. Isaiah Wilson, whose corner three-pointer just before intermission stretched the Richmond lead to four, opened up the scoring in the second half with another three-pointer to push the Spiders lead to 42-35. Minutes later, back-to-back three-pointers from Matt Grace and Burton gave Richmond its first double-digit lead at 52-42.
But the Spiders were unable to avoid sending NC State to the free-throw line, allowing the Wolfpack to close the gap to one at 63-62 following a 10-2 run that included five points from the charity stripe. NC State again pulled close with 3:05 remaining, when a dunk by Dereon Seabron made the score 72-70 in favor of Richmond.
But the Spiders clamped defensively, holding NC State without a field goal for the remainder of the game as the Wolfpack missed their final six shots from the field. On offense, Jacob Gilyard sealed the game with a backdoor layup and at the free throw line, scoring eight of Richmond’s final nine points.
After the game, Spiders coach Chris Mooney credited the team’s poise and aggression for allowing the Spiders to keep the lead in the final minutes.
“We were really working so hard defensively, trying to have everybody in the lane and make it tough for them to score — but we kept scoring,” said Mooney. “I thought we continued to execute and stayed poised and Jacob [Gilyard] and Nick [Sherod] and Grant [Golden] really kept us calm out there and we were able to both run our offense and stay aggressive.” With the win, Richmond has now defeated a power-conference opponent in 15 of Mooney’s 17 season with the Spiders.
Golden’s 19 points increased his career total to 1,913, passing Kendall Anthony (1,909) for the fourth-most in school history. Burton added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Cayo finished with 14 points and four assists.
Gilyard’s 10 assists were more than the entire NC State team (8) and his most in a game this season.
Richmond will have one day off Saturday before hosting Old Dominion at the Robins Center Sunday at 4 PM.
“You have to make certain trade-offs,” said Mooney of the tight turnaround. “We wanted to be part of this event and get the opportunity to play NC State and to do that we had to squeeze it in and only have one day of prep after travel. That’s a challenge that we need to meet and that’s a challenge that starts as soon as we get back tonight.”
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