Jan. 16, 2010

Box Score

RICHMOND, VA - Playing shorthanded for the second straight game, La Salle dropped a 67-63 contest at Richmond on Saturday afternoon at the Robins Center. Freshman Aaric Murray had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds and junior Jerrell Williams added 14 points in defeat.

"I'm disappointed in the loss," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "But I'm not disappointed in our players. Our effort was good and I was most pleased with the play of the guys who are in roles that they are not accustomed to."

With over 1800 career points sitting on the bench in the form of seniors Kimmani Barrett (sprained right foot) and Ruben Guillandeaux (stress fracture), the Explorers were going against a Richmond team picked third in the A-10 preseason coaches poll. The Spiders also were 8-0 in the Robins Center this season and had beaten Florida, Mississippi State and Missouri on the road.

"It's no secret we're pretty shorthanded right now," Giannini said. "I would love to have all our seniors together right now but we're in a tough spot. Our guys worked really hard today against a good team."

Murray scored at least 18 points for third straight game and collected almost half of the team's 39 rebounds. He also blocked four shots, his ninth game this season with at least three rejections, and avoided foul trouble to play 36 minutes.

Senior Rodney Green was hounded all game by the Spiders defense and was held to 10 points in a hard-fought 38 minutes. He did pass former teammate Darnell Harris (2004-07) to move into 16th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,668 points. Ken Durrett (1968-71) is next on the list with 1,679 points.

Freshman T.T. Carey, who grew up an hour away from the UR campus in Colonial Beach, VA, received the starting nod from Giannini and scored four points in the first three minutes, helping the visitors to an early 11-4 lead. Carey finished with a career-high six points.

The Spiders (14-5, 3-1 A-10) took the lead for good on a three by David Gonzalvez to make it 15-14 with 11:57 left in the first. They used a 15-4 run to extend the lead as many as 11 points with two minutes to play before the half and did not trail the rest of the contest.

The Explorers cut the deficit to three points with six minutes to play but would get no closer.

Kevin Anderson had 21 points, including 14 in the second frame, to lead Richmond. Gonzalvez had all 12 of his points in the first half and Justin Harper added 11.

Richmond evened the all-time series at 12-12 with the victory.

La Salle (9-8, 2-2 A-10) will play its final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday at Penn. Tip-off is set for 7 PM.

NOTES: Prior to the game, it was announced that junior Terrell Williams was suspended for the spring semester for a violation of La Salle University regulations. He is eligible to return for the summer session.