RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond couldn’t have started any slower against No. 16 Dayton in the sold out Robins Center on Saturday night, missing its first 11 shots to fall behind 9-0.
But as has been their strength this season, the Spiders’ defense made things hard for the Flyers and the offense came around just enough in a 69-64 victory that gave Richmond sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10.
“That was our best defensive performance,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said after winning against a ranked team for the 16th time as the Spiders coach.
The victory was Richmond’s 10th in a row, their longest winning streak since the 1934-35 team won 22 straight. They also improved to 11-0 at home.
The Spiders did a lot right, including making 18 of their final 19 free throw attempts to hold off the Flyers, who closed to within 67-64 in the final minute. After Jordan King pushed the lead to five with two from the line and Dayton missed its final shot, the fans rushed the court and the celebration was on.
“The fan support tonight was amazing,” center Neal Quinn said. “I was kind of hoping they would storm the court. That was an unreal experience.”
King scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and DeLonnie Hunt had all 10 of his after the intermission. Isaiah Bigelow and Dji Bailey added 12 points each for Richmond, (15-5, 7-0) with Bigelow also grabbing 15 rebounds.
Dayton (16-3, 6-1) had its nation-leading 13-game winning streak snapped. The Flyers got 18 points from Javon Bennett and 11 from Kobe Elvis, but scoring leader DaRon Holmes II (19.6 ppg) was held to nine points on 2-for-12 shooting.
Dayton shot 33.9% (20-59) from the field.
“I thought we got some good looks. I thought we got out of character at times offensively, rushed some things,” Flyers coach Anthony Grant said. “You’ve got to give them all the credit. They made the plays to win the game.”
BIG PICTURE
Dayton: Koby Brea hit two 3-pointers in the second half for the Flyers, including one to barely beat the shot clock, after airballing his two attempts in the first half. Dayton attempted more 3-pointers (33) than shots from inside the arc (26), but made only 10.
Richmond: Mooney, in his 19th season at Richmond, improved to 16-25 against ranked teams. The Spiders led 20-15 at halftime despite missing their first 11 shots and going scoreless until King’s basket with 13:45 left in the half made it 9-2.
COURT STORMING
Mooney said he had no concerns about safety when fans rushed the court.
“I think the security comes in ropes off where the players are shaking hands. I thought we handled that really well tonight,” he said. “I mean, I’ve seen some things where you don’t want a court storming.”
The topic became prominent recently when Iowa star Caitlin Clark was run into by a fan after the Hawkeyes were upset at Ohio State.
UP NEXT
Dayton: Hosts George Washington on Tuesday night.
Richmond: Visits Fordham on Wednesday night.
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