Career night from Lindsay helps push Spiders past Hofstra in OT

Despite never leading during regulation, the Richmond Spiders climbed back from an 11-point second half deficit to beat the Hofstra Pride in overtime Tuesday night.

November 20, 2013; 7:35 AM • by Adam Williams

Recap

In a wild second round match up of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the Robins Center Tuesday night, Richmond (3-1) overcame a woeful first half on both ends of the floor to eventually defeat Hofstra (1-3), 74-63. Cedrick Lindsay posted a career-high 26 points on 10-19 from the field, 2-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-7 from the free throw line to go along with four assists (to zero turnovers) and a steal in 38 minutes played. Had Richmond not been able to send the game into overtime and win, Lindsay’s night would have been overshadowed by Hofstra graduate student Zeke Upshaw, who lit up the scoreboard with an impressive 37 points on 9-19 shooting and 15-18 from the charity stripe.

It seemed as if the Spiders were a step behind the Pride throughout the first half, who shot 57% from the field and, with their long and quick 3-2 zone, suffocated Richmond’s offensive output to a slender 9-24 (37.5%). Too often the Spiders settled for three-point jumpers (4-14 in the first half) instead of getting the ball inside to Terry Allen (7 PTS, 7 REBS), Alonzo Nelson-Ododo (4 PTS, 8 REBS), and Derrick Williams (6 PTS, 5 REBS) in order to thin out Hofstra’s zone defense. The Spiders went into the locker room down 33-24 at the end of a sloppy and poorly executed first half.

The second half, however, was a different story. Richmond used 7-0 and 9-0 scoring runs with a concerted effort on the part of Lindsay, Kendall Anthony (18 PTS, 5-12 3P), and Wayne Sparrow (2 PTS, 3 ASSISTS) to send the ball inside throughout the second half, helping the Spiders to 32 points in the paint. The Spiders’ defensive intensity also escalated into a harassing full-court press, forcing Hofstra into nine second half turnovers and scoring 23 points off of Hofstra’s miscues throughout the game.

Still down three with only 43 seconds remaining, Derrick Williams was on the receiving end of a Trey Davis (6 PTS, 10 REBS, 3 BLKS) assist for a bucket and a foul, tying the game at 58-58 heading into the final possessions. And Davis wasn’t done. In the final 15 seconds of regulation, Davis grabbed two crucial defensive rebounds and blocked the potential game-winning shot from Upshaw at the buzzer—just a snapshot of the inspiring energy and hustle he brought to the court on Tuesday night. The Spiders would go on to dominate in overtime, outpacing the Pride 16-5 during the extra period for the 74-63 victory.

Top performer: Cedrick Lindsay, G, Senior

The night undoubtedly belonged to Lindsay, the Spiders’ go-to-guy in the clutch, who did an excellent job of not only attacking the basket and scoring but forcing the tempo of the game and getting his teammates involved with four assists. Lindsay came into Tuesday night’s contest averaging 16.7 PPG, but after his 26-point performance against Hofstra he’s now up to 19 PPG.

5 Stats

• The Spiders have won their last six overtime games, including last year’s thriller over nationally-ranked and cross-town rival VCU. Richmond’s last overtime loss came in 2010 against Iona.
• After shooting 8-26 (30.8%) from three point range on Tuesday night, the Spiders raised their season average from 13.8% to 18.7%.
• Tuesday night marked the third time in four games that the Spiders held their opponents under 40% shooting from the field.
• Lindsay’s 26 points on Tuesday night has him just 31 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Richmond is 40-6 in their last 46 non-conference home games.

Looking forward

Richmond’s next game in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament will place the Spiders in Connecticut to face off against #19 North Carolina on Saturday. The Tar Heels are coming off of an upset loss at home at the hands of the Belmont Bruins, a scrappy team from the Ohio Valley Conference that Richmond defeated at the Robins Center last week, 69-61. Tipoff is at 12:00 PM, and the game came be seen on ESPN3 and heard locally on ESPN 950. 

The Spiders return home after the holiday to face in-state foe, James Madison, on November 30th at 6:00 PM.

November 20, 2013 7:35 AM 1