Spiders, unable to convert in overtime, fall 70-69 to Ohio

After handily beating the Eagles of Coppin State (71-49) last Saturday, the University of Richmond Spiders (8-4) lost a rare non-conference home game to the Bobcats of Ohio (8-3), 70-69, in overtime.

December 23, 2013; 10:39 AM • by Adam Williams

Recap

After a flurry of late baskets by Cedrick Lindsay to force the MAC Ohio Bobcats into an extra period, Wayne Sparrow had a put-back opportunity at the buzzer that fell short, handing Richmond their fourth loss of the season. The Spiders allowed a ten-point second-half lead slip away as they failed to score a single point over a 10-minute span and struggled mightily from the field, shooting only 36% while going 1-8 from three point range and only 2-9 from the free throw line.

Kendall Anthony hit a jumper from the elbow with 22 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it up at 61 and send the game into overtime. The Spiders fell behind quickly in the extra period, but rallied behind Lindsay who scored six straight points to put Richmond up two with 13 seconds left. Ohio called their final timeout, drew up a play, and executed it perfectly. Nick Kellogg pulled up from the beyond the arc and drained a three-point bucket with just over eight ticks left on the clock. The Bobcats shot 50% from three throughout the game Sunday afternoon, but failed to connect on a long ball in the second half. Which may be why Richmond simply didn’t seem guard the three very well on the final Bobcat play. It was only Kellogg’s second three of the game.

The Spiders had one last chance as Lindsay spurted back up the floor, put up a layup that ironed out, only to be rebounded by Sparrow at point-blank range and missed to end the game. The dejection and disappointment on the faces of the Richmond players as they left the court was clearly visible. They knew they had let an important non-conference home game against a very good team slip through their fingertips.

Sunday marked Richmond’s third overtime game already this season, though they now fall below .500 in those games (1-2). In each of their overtime losses, Richmond has led by ten points in the second half before failing to close on the victory.

Once again, Lindsay led the Spiders (and all scorers) with 23 points on 10-19 shooting (0-2 3FG, 3-7 FT). Lindsay, now averaging 18.6 points per game, continues to dominate defenders off the dribble, get into the paint, and hit jumpers and floaters over top of opponents’ bigger players. Kendall Anthony scored 17 points on 4-10 shooting (3-8 3FG, 6-6 FT) and is clearly Richmond’s second best scoring option at 12.5 points per game. The struggle for Richmond to find a legitimate third scorer continues as Terry Allen’s play has been rather inconsistent of late (2 PTS, 0-1 FG, 2-2 FT, 2 REB, 4 TO), Derrick Williams (8 PTS, 3-5 FG, 2-3 FT) fails to get enough touches around the basket, and perimeter shooting is severely lacking outside of Lindsay and Anthony (combining for 41 of the Spiders’ 70 total 3-pointers on the season). Ohio had three players in double figures, led by Maurice Ndour (19 PTS, 8-10 FG, 1-1 3FG, 7 REB).

5 STATS

• After seven different Spiders scored in the first half, only three different Richmond players scored in the second half and overtime.
• Cedrick Lindsay trails only Jon Severe of Fordham (19.8 PPG) in A-10 scoring.
• Sunday’s loss to Ohio marked Richmond’s 7th loss in their last 49 non-conference home games.
• Three Spiders have cracked all-time top-10 lists this season. Junior Kendall Anthony has 156 career three-pointers, ranking 10th on Richmond’s career list. Cedrick Lindsay is now 9th on UR’s all-time scoring list. Alonzo Nelson-Ododa is already 10th on Richmond’s all-time blocks list and needs just five more for 9th place.
• Before Sunday’s loss, the Spiders were holding opponents to just 63 points per game, ranking 2nd in the Atlantic 10 and 31st in the nation. Richmond has now held their competition to 61 points or less in regulation in 9-out-of-12 games this season.

LOOKING FORWARD

The Richmond Spiders return to action next Saturday evening against Old Dominion (5-7) in their final home game of 2013 and before they hit the road for a four-game swing. Last season’s tilt against the Monarchs saw the Spiders win in a landslide, 80-53, in Norfolk.

December 23, 2013 10:39 AM 0