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Richmond upsets VCU in Capital City Classic

Feb 1, 2015 - 12:30 AM Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kendall Anthony scored 22 points, and the Richmond Spiders upset cross-town rival No. 14 VCU, 64-55, on Saturday.

The Spiders (12-9, 5-3 A-10) handled the Rams' Havoc defense in a 42- point second half. The Rams shot just 40.7 percent overall and made just 3- of-20 attempts from 3-point range.

"We rebounded very well, defensively," said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. "Not turning the ball over and our defense were the story for us."

Terry Allen added 15 points and seven rebounds for Richmond.

VCU (17-4, 7-1) saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end. Treveon Graham paced the Rams with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and seven boards. Briante Weber chipped in 11 before leaving late in the game with a knee injury.

"We're hopeful it's something he can come back from," said VCU coach Shaka Smart. "I don't want to say more than that because I don't know."

Tight defense dominated the early portion of the game. Allen's jumper with 8 1/2 minutes to go in the first half tied the game at 11 before VCU went on a run.

The Rams made seven shots in a row from the field, capped by JeQuan Lewis' layup to put VCU up 28-17 at the 1:48 mark. Richmond recovered with the last five points of the half to trail 28-22 at the break.

Richmond hit three triples coming out of the break to go up 31-30. It took four minutes for the Rams to make their first shot from the field, but they would never take the lead again.

Neither team shot well in the second half, but Richmond's ability to get to the free throw line and take advantage of its opportunities was the difference. The Spiders were 18-of-22 from the charity stripe in the second half while VCU was just 8-of-13 for the game.

Weber left the game with VCU down 50-41 at the final media timeout. He would not return to the court, but he came back to the bench on crutches with ice on his right knee.

With under three minutes remaining, the Rams hit four shots in a row to cut their deficit to four points with 52 seconds to play, but they could not get any closer as Richmond closed the game hitting all six free throw attempts in the final minute.

Alonzo Nelson-Ododa's emphatic slam with four seconds to play punctuated Richmond's upset win.

Game Notes

Richmond started the season 0-7 on the road ... The Spiders had not beaten a ranked opponent on the road since Jan. 22, 2004 at Kansas ... VCU still leads the all-time series, 45-27 ... The Rams had won 16-straight conference games at home ... VCU was 13-0 when leading at halftime ... Richmond outrebounded VCU, 39-27 ... VCU travels to in-state rival George Mason on Wednesday while Richmond plays at La Salle on Thursday.