After a 2-0 start to Atlantic 10 Conference competition,
the University of Richmond has lost three straight league games. The most recent defeat was a streaky affair. Wednesday night at
St. Bonaventure , the Bonnies outscored UR 15-2 to close the first half with a 12-point advantage, and the Spiders began the second half by outscoring SBU 15-1 to take the lead with 13 minutes left. SBU responded with a 12-2 run and went on to a 63-49 win. Richmond trailed 50-45 with 6:31 remaining and didn’t make another field goal until the inconsequential final minute. In the Spiders’ three A-10 losses, they scored 58, 64 and 49. “We just haven’t been able to sustain offense,” UR coach Chris Mooney said. “I thought our effort was great. I thought our defense for long parts of the game was really, really good ... We just haven’t been able to sustain it with offense in terms of making shots, making shots around the basket, making shots from 3-point range.
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“And that puts so much pressure on your defense.” Similar to UR (7-11, 2-3 A-10), SBU (15-3, 3-2) had lost its past two league games. Richmond converted 17 field goals, and eight were from 3-point distance. Jason Roche scored 12 points on four 3s, and no other Spider scored in double-figures. UR shot 37%. The Spiders played their second game without senior point guard
DeLonnie Hunt (fractured left foot), the team’s leader in scoring (16.8 ppg), minutes (35.5 mpg), assists (2.9 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). Partly because of Hunt’s absence, the Spiders have used seven different starting lineups this season, their most since 2013-14. They were disjointed after a strong first 12 minutes at SBU. Richmond was outscored 15-2 in the final eight minutes of the first half and that came after seldom-used UR guard George Washington hit back-to-back 3s to give the Spiders a 23-22 lead. St. Bonaventure converted 52% in the first half, and redshirt sophomore Jonah Hinton (19 points) hit four 3s and scored 14 before halftime.
The University of Richmond's Jason Roche followed through on one of his four 3-pointers at St. Bonaventure Wednesday night. UR committed six first-half turnovers, and the Bonnies scored nine points off of them. Fifteen of Richmond’s 22 shots in the first half were 3-point attempts. Roche hit two 3s early in the second half to help the Spiders rally for a 40-38 lead. SBU responded with that 12-2 run.
Vexing venue for Spiders
Richmond has lost six straight at
SBU’s Reilly Center , dating to February 2015. In that game, UR junior forward Terry Allen had a double-double (15 and 11), and Richmond shot 50% on the way to a 71-56 victory. Since then, UR has won at the arena of every A-10 member other than St. Bonaventure and Dayton. The only home loss for the Bonnies this season came last Saturday, when La Salle executed an 83-82 overtime upset.
Hunt’s return
Hunt is expected to miss about eight weeks from Jan. 10, the day UR clarified the injury that occurred Jan. 8 at George Mason. Hunt on Tuesday underwent surgery, which he termed “successful” in a social media post. Mooney said once medical personnel were able to see exactly what the issue was and subsequently assess the how early recovery is going, “you usually get a little bit of an idea whether you can shave some time off ... We talked to the team about making sure that as much as he’s supported us … we really need to make sure we support him and take care of him, because this is something that’s very difficult for him to face.”
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The Spiders host Saint Louis (10-7, 3-1) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Billikens fell at VCU 78-62 Tuesday night and stayed in Richmond in preparation for the upcoming date with the Spiders. The SLU-UR matchup will be televised by the USA Network. Richmond has won the past three in the series after losing four straight.
PHOTO GALLERY: University of Richmond basketball vs. Rhode Island
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Richmond head coach Chris Mooney watches the game from the sideline at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va. 011225-rtd-sp-urbb
Richmond guard Mikkel Tyne (1) shoots a three at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va. 011225-rtd-sp-urbb
Richmond forward Jonathan Beagle (9) gets fouled by Rhode Island forward Drissa Traore at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va. 011225-rtd-sp-urbb
Scott Ungerer talks into his mic from the sideline at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va. 011225-rtd-sp-urbb
Richmond forward Dusan Neskovic (7) tries to get past Rhode Island guard Jaden House at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va. 011225-rtd-sp-urbb
Richmond guard Mikkel Tyne (1) shoots the ball at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va. 011225-rtd-sp-urbb
Richmond center Mike Walz (21) passes the ball at University of Richmond on January 11, 2025, in Richmond, Va.
