Richmond Leaves No Doubt In Win Over Temple

By: Ethan Hennessy

Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Two former Atlantic Ten foes, Richmond and Temple, faced off on Sunday evening in Philadelphia as part of a doubleheader celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Palestra. Richmond started off the game by jumping up eight less than two minutes into the game. Temple finally recorded a field goal as Jordan Marsh stole the ball with 12:13 in the first half and raced to the basket to convert a contact layup. Temple coach Adam Fisher said in the postgame press conference that they did not come out with intensity to start the game and he took responsibility for that.

With 6:30 to go before halftime, the Spiders still held a double-digit lead. However, Temple’s press was starting to bother the Spiders slightly. Around the five-minute mark, Richmond’s Jamie Keiser Jr. lofted a pass up towards the middle of the lane while running in transition and Andrew Ball dunked it through the hoop. Richmond had the luxury of never feeling scoreboard pressure in the first half. In a half that saw them lead by 15 points early, the Spiders held Temple to 29% from the field and took a 37-23 lead into halftime.

Temple stepped up their offensive output in the second half thanks to wing three-pointers. However, it seemed for every three-pointer the Owls drained the Spiders answered on the other end. With 10:55 to play, Richmond led 61-39. Richmond kept demonstrating their scoring versatility throughout the second half. With 5:41 to go they were shooting 47% from beyond the arc, but the inside game was working equally well as Temple was forced to call a timeout after yet another Richmond driving dunk right down the middle of the lane; when Amon Dorries found a cutting Jamie Keiser Jr. In the end, Richmond held the Owls to 30% shooting from the field and only 18 points in the paint. A final score of 79-53 kept the Spiders undefeated on the season. After the game, Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said this is his first time coaching a game in the building and that it is the best venue the sport has to offer.

Next up for Richmond is a trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to take on the Salukis of Southern Illinois. Temple will return to their home court at the Liacouras Center to host the College of Charleston.