Richmond pulls off another surprise
Darrius Garrett #1 of the Richmond Spiders reacts after a play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament. (March 17, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
DENVER -- Consider your bracket busted.
Just hours after No. 13 seed Morehead State ousted Louisville from the Big Dance, No. 12 Richmond added its name to the upset list with a 69-66 win over fifth-seeded Vanderbilt in yesterday's second round.
Sparked by Kevin Anderson's game-high 25 points -- including a game-clinching floater with 18.7 remaining -- the Spiders (28-7) earned their first tournament win since 1998.
They will face Morehead State Saturday.
Richmond, known for springing upsets, trailed by 11 twice in the first half, but eventually pulled ahead thanks to Anderson's hot hand. Led by nine straight points (all on threes) by the senior, the Spiders went on a 12-0 run to take a 51-48 lead with 12:05 to play.
"They just got hot," Vandy guard John Jenkins said. "We fought our hearts out, I can honestly say that. We gave it our all. We just didn't come out on the positive side today."
The Commodores, who have lost three straight NCAA Tournament games when playing as the higher seed, had no answers for Anderson. The senior guard pumped his fist after each of his momentum-stealing threes, but it was the jumper he drained after pump-faking defender Jeffery Taylor that electrified the Richmond fans.
"The team did a great job of just finding me," said Anderson, who had nine points at halftime and finished the game shooting 10-for-24 from the field and 4-for-9 from behind the arc. "We had open looks all game really. In their 2-3 zone, they're really long. I think we did a good job penetrating, kicking out to open shooters."
Justin Harper chipped in 13 and Francis Martel added 12 off the bench for Richmond. Festus Ezeli and Jenkins, the SEC's leading scorer, each scored 21 points for Vanderbilt (23-11).
Though Richmond has a history of pulling tournament upsets, the Spiders didn't make things easy on themselves in the final seconds. With Richmond up 68-66, Anderson had a chance to put Vanderbilt away for good, but he hit just one of two free throws with 3.4 seconds left, leaving the door open for the Commodores.
Luckily for the Spiders, Rod Odom's contested three-pointer dropped short of the rim as time expired.
Richmond, which became the first No. 15 seed to defeat a No. 2 after its 1991 victory over Syracuse in the first round, has won seven of its last nine games against ranked opponents and is 9-3 over its past 12 games.
