Richmond 65 St. Bonaventure 54 - Were You Expecting That?

[mojo-spider]

I certainly wasn't...after two lethargic performances against outmanned opponents I didn't know what to expect against the red hot Bonnies who had just demolished the Rams down on Broad Street...after all, St. Bonaventure's tough, physical style of play had given the Spiders fits for years...

but the team apparently hit the reset and refresh button during their bye week...the energy, toughness and execution yesterday was more than the Bonnies could handle as the Spiders played chest to chest defense and made the hustle plays necessary to win on both ends of the court...

what can you say about Isaiah Bigelow except wow!...long time Spiders fans surely noticed how badly he wanted every missed shot on both ends of the court...technique is important, but quite often rebounds are decided by who wants it the most...Bigelow wanted it yesterday from the opening tap...

still struggling from three point range, it was impressive to see the Spiders take the ball to the basket to win this one inside....Dji Bailey took a physical pounding, but never stopped attacking the rim along with Bigelow, Quinn, Walz and King...when the game was still on the line in the final minutes the Spiders showed their mental toughness too...after struggling at the FT line earlier in the game King, Bailey and Bigelow made 11/12 FTs in the final minutes to seal the win....well done!

now, was this a one off afternoon, or can the Spiders take it to Chicago and break through on the road?...

Go Spiders!

 

[gcarter52]

This will be our first road win of the year, especially a conference win!

 

[kneepadmckinney]

I was thrilled to be wrong about this one. Terrific game all around. And put this one in the file where we definitively did NOT fade down the stretch. We made winning plays all over the place.

 

[RichmondNative]

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decided by who wants it the most...

Agree with your summary @mojo-spider.

The above that you used to describe rebounding I think was the key. Bigelow set the tone and the rest of the team followed in this one. Definitely didn’t see the “A” offense, but saw A+ defense leading to the win.

The Bonnies had the right idea with fouling at the end, they just fouled the wrong guys. Granted the Spiders managed to get the ball to King, the best free throw shooter on the team.

Breaking through with a win on the road is the next big step the Spiders need to take and Loyola is the first opportunity. Taking a quick look at the numbers, it looks like a mirror of the Spiders own. Only difference I see is turnovers, so perhaps getting more shots is the key to the Spiders winning the next one. Will be a quick turnaround for the Tuesday game, but seems like the defensive game plan can be recycled.

Go Spiders!

 

[urmite]

Was anyone expect their assists to turnovers compared to ours?