RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Kendall Anthony hit his first two shots and thought he might be in for something special. He was right.
The 5-foot-8 guard hit his first four 3-point attempts, scored 21 points and picked up the slack when scoring leader Cedrick Lindsay was in foul trouble for Richmond, leading the Spiders to a 58-55 victory against No. 13 Massachusetts on Wednesday night.
“When I hit my first two shots, I got a lot of confidence,” Anthony said after bettering his previous season-high of 19 points. “My confidence went up. I was feeling it a lot, I was in a rhythm and I was able to knock them down.”
Anthony finished 8 of 14 from the field, and 4 for 6 from long range, and Lindsay made his mark when the Spiders needed it most, scoring six straight points midway through the second half and three critical free throws in the final 27 seconds.
Richmond (13-6, 3-1 Atlantic 10) won its third straight in league play, and ended UMass’ six-game winning streak.
“My teammates did a great job of holding it down when I was on the bench,” Lindsay said. The Spiders won their fifth game in the last six tries against ranked teams at home, and beat their highest ranked foe since No. 6 Georgia Tech in 1986.
Lindsay finished with 11 points, eight below his average, and Anthony’s total was eight above his norm.
“When he’s making those shots, they’re really, really tough to beat,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said.
Especially when the Minutemen’s star, Chaz Williams, isn’t making his shots. The 5-9 Williams, who arrived averaging 16.3 points, had seven assists, but made only 2 of 11 shots and scored just eight points. He also had a shot blocked in the closing minutes by Alonzo Nelson-Adoda, and then missed a long 3-pointer in the closing seconds that would have tied it.
“I just thought it was good,” Williams said of the shot. “I didn’t make a 3 all game, but I was real confident in that one.”
Anthony’s last 3-pointer came with 3:45 to go, after the Minutemen had closed to within 52-48.
Sampson Carter had 15 points to lead UMass (16-2, 3-1). He made a 3-pointer with 2:26 to play, and when Cady Lalanne followed a Richmond miss with a dunk, the Minutemen were within 55-53 with 38.3 seconds to play.
But Lindsay made one of two free throws with 26.7 seconds to go, and after Williams had his driving layup attempt blocked by Nelson-Adoda, Trey Davis scored for the Minutemen with 11.3 seconds to play, making it a one-point game.
Richmond’s Trey Davis then hit Lindsay with a long inbounds pass over Williams, who fouled him, sending Lindsay toppling over the advertising barrier under the basket. Lindsay then made both free throws, creating the final score.
Massachusetts had its winning streak end, but once again made it interesting.
Of its six previous victories in a row, four had come by five points or less, three after late rallies.
“I thought all day it was going to be a game that came down to the last two or three possessions,” Kellogg said. “”I was just hoping that we could keep making the plays that we’ve been making. We just didn’t do that tonight.”
Richmond led 14-13 when two free throws by Derrick Williams sparked a 12-4 run for the Spiders. Lindsay followed with his only field goal of the half, and after Trey Davis and Williams scored for the Minutemen, Anthony scored eight straight on a three-point play, and jumper and a 3-pointer.
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