Richmond Spiders’ Shooting Woes Lead to a Loss to Florida Gulf Coast University (12-28-24)
By: Xavier Jones
Headline Photo Credit: Arturo Jones-LMS Network
On Saturday evening, the Richmond Spiders were set to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at the Robins Center in Richmond, VA. Both teams were looking to turn their respective seasons around after getting off to rocky starts. This non-conference matchup could be used as a catalyst to gain some sort of momentum to carry with them throughout the rest of the season.
To start things off in the first half, the Richmond Spiders would rely heavily on the three-ball. The Eagles outscored the Spiders 16 to 6 in points in the paint. Along with Richmond’s poor shooting, they didn’t do themselves any favors by giving up 10 offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points to FGCU. Too many times in the first half it seemed like Richmond was just settling for jumpers and not attacking the basket. Especially on a night when their shots weren’t falling, so they couldn’t get into any type of rhythm in the first half. As a team, the Spiders shot 100% from the free throw line in the half but it still wasn’t enough to help them catch a rhythm. Florida Gulf Coast managed to knock down timely baskets whenever Richmond looked to make a run during the first half. Going into halftime, the Eagles held a 38-30 lead over the Richmond Spiders. Richmond was lucky to be down only 8 at the half after shooting 33% from the field and 25% from three.
Coming out of halftime, the shooting struggles for the Spiders continued to show its ugly head. They weren’t forcing up shots, they were taking what the defense gave them and kept missing. The game never got close in the second half. At one point, FGCU had expanded their lead to 20 points. Richmond slowly chipped away at the deficit, but they never got it under 10 points. The Eagles’ double-digit lead lasted throughout the entire second half even with Dusan Neskovic leading the way with 20 points for the Spiders. For FGCU, Dallion Johnson (16), Kevin Muniz (15), and Rahmir Barno (14) led the way to the road victory in Richmond.
The Richmond Spiders’ next game is December 31st against George Washington at home, and Florida Gulf Coast Eagles’ next game is against West Georgia on the road.
