Two of Josh Jones? four field goals Wednesday in the University of Richmond?s 84-74 win over St. Francis Brooklyn illustrated elevated offensive impact.
UR guard ShawnDre? Jones threw a cross-court pass to Josh Jones in transition. He took off from the right wing and threw down ?as good a dunk as we?ve had here in a little while,? said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. ?That was really impressive.?
Jones? jam juiced up the Robins Center crowd and sparked an 8-0 Richmond run in the second half.
Though far less flashy, a more important Jones basket for the current and future health of UR offense came in the first half. Jones, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, received a pass near the right sideline, dribbled hard to the free throw line and hit a pull-up jumper. It was a confident, creative move from a player who rarely has shown that initiative.
?I thought it was the best game of his career,? Mooney said.
Jones, who was averaging 2.1 points and 10 minutes, scored 11 in 16 minutes. He made all four of his shots from the field and all three of his free throws in the NIT first-round game.
Six Spiders scored in double-figures. Richmond shot 65.2 percent in the first half. UR was averaging 24 field goals and 16 free throw attempts. The Spiders scored 28 field goals and went to the line 33 times against St. Francis. Some of that may be linked to the NIT?s use of a 30-second shot clock.
?I thought our guys played with great energy right from the start,? Mooney said. ?I know that traditionally, the host team in the NIT sometimes comes out flat. There were no signs of that.
?I thought our energy was great, and I think it?ll just be improved on Sunday.?
Richmond (20-13) on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. faces visiting Arizona State (18-15) in a second-round NIT game. The programs have previously met two times, both at ASU. UR beat the Sun Devils on Dec. 5, 1987, and advanced to the 1988 Sweet 16. UR defeated Arizona State again on Dec. 5, 2010, and advanced to the 2011 Sweet 16.
In the third meeting, the Spiders hope for the same, or superior, Robins Center support they received in the St. Francis game. The attendance was 3,624, the sixth-most among the 16 first-round games, and Spiders? fans were involved.
?I thought our crowd was great, really great, right from the beginning of the game,? Mooney said. ?I told our guys they should be proud of that and grateful.?
If tall young men in Arizona State gear were spotted in Richmond as early as Thursday afternoon, those were the Sun Devils. It wasn?t sensible for the Arizona State travel party to return to the ASU campus after Wednesday night?s 68-61 win at Connecticut, then fly back to the East Coast for a Sunday night game. The Sun Devils relocated from Boston to Richmond on Thursday.
Sunday night?s game will be televised by ESPNU.
As one of four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team NIT, Richmond will play a quarterfinal home game if it defeats Arizona State.
UR guard ShawnDre? Jones threw a cross-court pass to Josh Jones in transition. He took off from the right wing and threw down ?as good a dunk as we?ve had here in a little while,? said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. ?That was really impressive.?
Jones? jam juiced up the Robins Center crowd and sparked an 8-0 Richmond run in the second half.
Though far less flashy, a more important Jones basket for the current and future health of UR offense came in the first half. Jones, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, received a pass near the right sideline, dribbled hard to the free throw line and hit a pull-up jumper. It was a confident, creative move from a player who rarely has shown that initiative.
?I thought it was the best game of his career,? Mooney said.
Jones, who was averaging 2.1 points and 10 minutes, scored 11 in 16 minutes. He made all four of his shots from the field and all three of his free throws in the NIT first-round game.
Six Spiders scored in double-figures. Richmond shot 65.2 percent in the first half. UR was averaging 24 field goals and 16 free throw attempts. The Spiders scored 28 field goals and went to the line 33 times against St. Francis. Some of that may be linked to the NIT?s use of a 30-second shot clock.
?I thought our guys played with great energy right from the start,? Mooney said. ?I know that traditionally, the host team in the NIT sometimes comes out flat. There were no signs of that.
?I thought our energy was great, and I think it?ll just be improved on Sunday.?
Richmond (20-13) on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. faces visiting Arizona State (18-15) in a second-round NIT game. The programs have previously met two times, both at ASU. UR beat the Sun Devils on Dec. 5, 1987, and advanced to the 1988 Sweet 16. UR defeated Arizona State again on Dec. 5, 2010, and advanced to the 2011 Sweet 16.
In the third meeting, the Spiders hope for the same, or superior, Robins Center support they received in the St. Francis game. The attendance was 3,624, the sixth-most among the 16 first-round games, and Spiders? fans were involved.
?I thought our crowd was great, really great, right from the beginning of the game,? Mooney said. ?I told our guys they should be proud of that and grateful.?
If tall young men in Arizona State gear were spotted in Richmond as early as Thursday afternoon, those were the Sun Devils. It wasn?t sensible for the Arizona State travel party to return to the ASU campus after Wednesday night?s 68-61 win at Connecticut, then fly back to the East Coast for a Sunday night game. The Sun Devils relocated from Boston to Richmond on Thursday.
Sunday night?s game will be televised by ESPNU.
As one of four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team NIT, Richmond will play a quarterfinal home game if it defeats Arizona State.
