December 19, 2008 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA — Chas McFarland had 20 points and 14 rebounds Friday night, and No. 10 Wake Forest overcame a lackluster performance in a 86-79 victory over Richmond.

The Demon Deacons (10-0) also got 21 points from Jeff Teague, including eight in a 17-6 run that allowed them to open a more comfortable 69-55 lead with 5:55 remaining.

Richmond (5-5) closed to within four twice in the final two minutes, the last at 78-74 with 1:35 left, but Teague scored on a drive and Al-Farouq Aminu followed with a dunk after a turnover to give the Demon Deacons an 82-74 lead and send fans streaming for the exits.

At least half the announced crowd of 6,635 at the Robins Center was already pro-Wake Forest as Demon Deacons fans on their way to see the football team play Navy in Saturday’s EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C., made a stopover to see the basketball team.

Many Richmond fans, meanwhile, had either followed their football team to Chattanooga, Tenn., or stayed at home to watch on television as the Spiders played Montana for the Football Championship Subdivision national championship on Friday night.

Sloppy play by the Demon Deacons allowed the Spiders to stay close until deep into the second half, when the big burst appeared to set Wake up to cruise to the finish.

It wasn’t to be, though, as Richmond’s scrappy defense forced 21 turnovers, turned them into 25 points and kept it close until the closing minutes when Wake’s talent prevailed.

Aminu and L.D. Williams each added 14 points for Wake Forest, which finished with a 43-26 edge on the backboards and outscored the Spiders 27-12 from the free-throw line.

Kevin Anderson led Richmond with 21 points, David Gonzalvez had 18 and Jarhon Giddings 12.

The Demon Deacons dominated the backboards in the first half, outrebounding Richmond 24-14, but Wake Forest led just 37-35 at the break after the Spiders scored the last six points.

Wake Forest had 11 turnovers in the half, and the Spiders had just three.

December 13, 2008 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA — Bradford Burgess hit a 3-pointer with 48.5 seconds left, breaking a 74-all tie, to lift Virginia Commonwealth to a 77-76 win over Richmond on Saturday.

Following Burgess’ shot, Kevin Smith’s layup pulled Richmond (5-4) within one point. The Spiders forced a five-second violation on the Rams as Virginia Commonwealth tried to inbound the ball, but David Gonzalvez missed a shot from the top of the key. The Rams’ Larry Sanders grabbed the rebound but missed two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, allowing Virginia Commonwealth to escape with the win.

Eric Maynor led the Rams with 23 points, seven assists and four steals, while Burgess scored 12 and Nixon added 11. The Rams scored 16 points off of 10 Spider turnovers in the second half.

Gonzalves led the Spiders with 19 points, Kevin Anderson added 16 and Giddings and Justin Harper had 12.

December 6, 2008 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA. — Kevin Anderson scored seven of his 19 points in the final three minutes to help Richmond beat Delaware State 76-66 on Saturday night.

David Gonzalvez led Richmond (5-3) with 20 points and Jarhon Giddings added 14.

The Spiders defense scored 36 points off of 21 turnovers.

The Spiders led 62-46 with 6:33 remaining when a Donald Johnson 3-pointer ignited a 17-3 Hornets (2-10) comeback, cutting the score to 65-63 with 3:29 left. But Anderson hit 5 of 6 free throws and a layup for a 72-65 Spiders lead with 1:31 left.

Richmond had a 16-3 run early in the first half to take an 18-9 lead with 11:20 remaining before halftime. Gonzalvez led that spurt with 5 points. After the Hornets cut the margin to four points, Giddings scored seven to spark a 15-6 run over the final 4:30 for a 35-22 lead at the half.

December 3, 2008 | AP Press

NORFOLK, VA. — Sophomore forward Keyon Carter had a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first start as Old Dominion held off Richmond 65-62 on Wednesday night.

The Monarchs (2-3), who lost their last two games by a combined five points, led by as many as 17 points in the first half. After three consecutive turnovers in the game’s final minute, it took a last-second 3-point try clanging off the left side of the backboard to secure ODU’s first win since its Nov. 16 season-opener at Charlotte.

Richmond’s David Gonzalvez led all scores with 20 points, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with five seconds to play and the Spiders (4-3) down by three. He was fouled on the rebound of a Kevin Anderson’s 3-point attempt, which hit off the front of the rim.

November 30, 2008 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA. — David Gonzalvez led Richmond with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the Spiders’ 78-67 victory over Coppin State on Sunday night.

Richmond (4-2) shot 54.5 percent from the field for the game (30 of 55), hitting a season-high 11 three-pointers. The Eagles (1-3), who open the season with 15 games away from home, were held to 33.9 percent (21 of 62).

The Spiders shot 69.2 percent in the first half (18 of 26), including 9-of-16 three-pointers, as Gonzalvez scored 13 points and Jarhon Giddings had 12.

Richmond extended a five-point lead with a 19-8 spurt midway through the first half. The Spiders led 49-32 at halftime and by as many as 24 points in the second half.

Kevin Anderson added 14 points for Richmond.

Tywain McKee led the Eagles with 20 points while Jordan Lee contributed 15 and Brian Chestnut added 10.

November 26, 2008 | AP Press

FORT MYERS, FLA — Dodie Dunson and Chris Roberts scored 13 points each as Bradley topped Richmond 80-66 on Wednesday.

Theron Wilson and Sam Maiscalco added 12 points apiece for the Braves (3-2), who shot 58.3 percent (14 of 24) in the first half as they took a 40-28 halftime lead in the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience. Bradley led by as much as 15 points in the first half.

Kevin Anderson scored 24 points and David Gonzalvez added 16 points for Richmond (3-2). The Spiders drew within 41-38 in the second half and were within four points on a number of occasions. Midway through the second half, the Spiders trailed 51-47 but Bradley countered with an 18-5 run that put the game out of reach with 5:23 left to play.

Richmond hit 8 of 16 3-pointers, while Bradley was 7 of 15 from behind the arc.

November 25, 2008 | AP Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jarhon Giddings led a balanced scoring attack with 20 points as Richmond beat Missouri-Kansas City 85-74 on Tuesday night.

The Spiders (3-1) hit 74.1 percent (20 of 27) of its shots in the second half, and 68.6 percent (35 of 51) for the game. That’s the best mark for Richmond since the team shot 71.8 percent against Longwood on Nov. 20, 2006.

Inside the 3-point line, the Spiders were 28 of 34 but Richmond still didn’t pull away until late in the game. Justin Harper scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 8:19 left to break a 60-60 tie and started a 17-7 Richmond run. Harper hit 4 of 5 3-pointers.

David Gonzalvez added 14 points and Kevin Anderson scored 12 for Richmond in the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience.

Dane Brumagin led the Kangaroos (2-4) with 26 points and Reggie Hamilton added 23, including 5 of 8 3-pointers.

November 24, 2008 | AP Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — David Gonzalvez scored 25 points as Richmond held off Florida Gulf Coast 69-58 on Monday night.

Gonzalvez scored 13 points in the first half and 12 in the second. He made 7 of 11 shots and 9 of 11 free throws. The Spiders kept FGCU at bay by making 25 of 31 at the free-throw line.

Kevin Anderson had 14 points and Jarhon Giddings had 11 rebounds for Richmond (2-1). Richmond outrebounded the Eagles (1-2) 34-29. Kevin Smith added 10 points for the Spiders.

Florida Gulf Coast couldn’t capatilize on four chances to cut into a 61-56 deficit in the closing minutes. Gonzalvez then hit a 3-pointer with 1:04 to put the game away in the O’Reilly Auto Parts College Basketball Experience.

Delvin Franklin had a game-high 17 points, with 12 on 3-pointers to lead the Eagles. Also, Derrick Neil scored 14 points and Kyle Marks added 11.

November 18, 2008 | AP Press

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Richmond coach Chris Mooney found out first-hand what he probably already knew — Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn is a handful.

Flynn scored 27 points — 16 in the final 13:34 — to lead the Orange past the Spiders 76-71 on Tuesday night in the CBE Classic.

“They have a lot of good players who can hurt you, but the big thing was we couldn’t guard Flynn,” Mooney said. “We couldn’t keep him out of the middle. We couldn’t dig in and guard him when they wanted to score.”

Flynn and fellow guard Eric Devendorf combined for 49 points and keyed a 13-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half that erased Richmond’s 38-31 halftime lead.

Flynn started the run with two driving layups and then assisted on four straight baskets by Devendorf — three 3-pointers and a driving, left-handed layup that gave Syracuse a 44-40 lead at 15:46.

For Devendorf, who sat out most of last season with a torn knee ligament, it was another encouraging night.

“I felt I had to ignite a spark for me and my team,” Devendorf said after going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers. “We took care of business. I’m back to the old me and doing what I’m capable of doing. It’s going to be tough to stop our backcourt.”

Syracuse (2-0) played mostly zone in the first half and gave up seven 3-pointers, four by David Gonzalvez. The Orange reverted to a more aggressive man-to-man in the second, limited the Spiders to 1-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc, and held on.

“We started locating the shooters and getting a hand in their face. We got active,” Flynn said. “I liked the way we gathered ourselves as a team.”

Devendorf rattled in another 3 and converted another lefty drive and Arinze Onuaku scored two straight baskets to key an 11-4 run that put Syracuse up 69-58 with 4:03 left.

The Spiders (1-1) own one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history — Richmond became the first 15th seed to defeat a No. 2 seed when it beat Syracuse 73-69 in 1991 — and they showed spunk in this one, too.

Justin Harper scored seven straight points and Richmond closed to 71-65 on a 3-pointer by Kevin Anderson with 2:05 left.

Flynn then hit a layup and two free throws in the final minute, and the Spiders ran out of time.

“Flynn is so disruptive we lost Devendorf a couple of times,” Mooney said. “But we hung in there when they went on that big run. I think we can get better. We need to be a tad calmer, but I’m proud of the way we played.”

Arinze Onuaku finished with 17 points for the Orange.  Paul Harris had only seven points, all in the first half, and did not draw any fouls, and Andy Rautins missed all seven of his shots from the field, including five 3s.

Gonzalvez had 18 points, Anderson 15, Harper 13 and Kevin Smith 10 for Richmond.

The Orange led the first 11 minutes of the game but never by more than six points. And after Rick Jackson’s tip-in put the Orange up 23-17 at 11:12, the Spiders used their outside shooting to take a seven-point lead at the break.

Gonzalvez, Conor Smith, and Anderson each hit a 3 in the final four minutes as Richmond finished the half on a 10-4 run.

“We didn’t have the presence of mind to be aggressive,” said Gonzalvez, who did not shoot a free throw. “I should have got to the basket a lot more.”

The Atlantic 10 had great success last season in the Carrier Dome. Massachusetts became the first team to win two games in the dome in one season and Rhode Island also beat the Orange on Jim Boeheim Court.

That the Spiders nearly joined the win parade only served notice that the Orange are far from polished.

“We’re happy to come out of here with a win,” Boeheim said. “To be down seven (at halftime), this is a pretty good win for us. The difference was our man-to-man. We spent a lot of time on it.”

November 15, 2008 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA — Kevin Anderson scored 17 points to lead Richmond to an easy 81-57 win over Randolph-Macon Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

Six Spiders scored during a 17-2 spurt early in the first half. Richmond also went on a 14-6 run for a 45-28 halftime lead.

The Spiders led by as many as 28 points in the second half as the Yellow Jackets never got within 14. Richmond was 30 of 65 from the field while holding Randolph-Macon to 20-of-60 shooting.

Josh Duinker added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Spiders, while Ryan Butler chipped in 12 points and David Gonzalvez 11.

Justin Short led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points.