In front of a crowd of 6,173 rowdy fans at the Robins Center, the Richmond men’s basketball team rebounded from an uneven start to collect a 70-60 victory over North Carolina Central to open the 2021-22 season.
“The atmosphere was tremendous,” head coach Chris Mooney said. “We are excited to be back and playing in front of our fans.” Due to COVID-19, it was the first game with fans in the Robins Center since March 3, 2020 — a span of 616 days.
But the crowd had little to celebrate in the game’s opening stanza, as NC Central stormed to a 33-19 lead in the game’s first 15 minutes. The Spiders responded an 8-0 run and buckled down on defense to get within five at the half, 36-31.
After the teams traded baskets to start the second half, Richmond rolled off 13 straight points, turning a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead with 14 minutes to play. NC Central would pull within three at the 9-minute mark but could get no closer as Richmond pulled away for the win.
Jacob Gilyard (Kansas City, Mo.) stuffed the Spiders box score, playing a full 40 minutes and registering seven steals, matching his career high and tied for the third most in a game in program history, while adding 14 points, six assists, and six rebounds for the Spiders.
“[Gilyard’s performance was] incredible,” Mooney said. “Seven steals is amazing and he was probably close to two or three more out there.”
Grant Golden (Winchester, Va.) led Richmond with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field with five rebounds. Tyler Burton (Uxbridge, Ma.) chipped in 14 points, including going 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, with six rebounds.
As a team, the Spiders forced 21 turnovers, resulting in 22 points.
Richmond is back in action Friday against Utah State, as part of the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Md. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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