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Richmond nips No. 22 VCU in double OT

Feb 26, 2015 - 5:30 AM Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - ShawnDre' Jones scored 22 points and Richmond had VCU's number once again, handing the 22nd-ranked Rams a gut- wrenching 67-63 loss in a double-overtime thriller at the Robins Center.

Jones went 6-of-10 from 3-point range and Terry Allen added 16 points with 10 rebounds to help the Spiders complete a season sweep of their bitter rivals, which Deion Taylor sealed with a crucial block of Treveon Graham with 0.1 seconds left in the second OT.

Kendall Anthony chipped in 13 points and seven assists for Richmond (16-12, 9-6 A-10). T.J. Cline finished with 11 points, the last two coming on a cutting layup with 1.5 seconds remaining in the first overtime that extended the game.

"This (game) really showed how great this rivalry is," said Spiders head coach Chris Mooney. "I'm so proud of our guys and their effort. They never got discouraged and we made some big plays on both ends of the floor in clutch situations."

VCU (21-7, 11-4), seeking to avenge a 64-55 home setback to the Spiders on Jan. 31 in which point guard Briante Weber suffered a season-ending knee injury, cut a 16-point second-half deficit down to three in the final minute of regulation. Graham, who put up 23 of his 25 points in the second half and the two extra sessions, then brought on additional time by burying a deep 3- pointer with 3.5 seconds on the clock.

JeQuan Lewis tallied 15 points and eight rebounds in the loss, which dropped the Rams into a four-way tie atop the Atlantic 10.

VCU didn't take its first lead of the night until Mo Alie-Cox's putback slam off a Graham miss gave the Rams a 56-55 edge with 1:12 to play in the initial OT. After two empty Richmond possessions, the margin was three when Melvin Johnson hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds showing.

The Rams then fouled Jones, who made the first attempt and deliberately missed the second, with the ball bouncing out of bounds to the Spiders with 4.1 seconds left. Trey Davis found Cline racing to the basket on the ensuing inbounds play, resulting in a game-tying bucket and another overtime.

"One of our strong suits is inbounds plays," said Cline. "And Trey is an unbelievable passer inbounding the ball."

VCU, which struggled to a 32.8 percent shooting percentage for the game, didn't record a basket in the second OT and fell behind 63-59 entering the final minute. The Rams still had a chance to win in the waning seconds after Jones was tied up with 7.8 seconds left and the possession arrow favored VCU, but Taylor stuffed Graham's driving attempt with the Spiders clinging to a 65-63 lead.

Richmond finally prevailed when Allen sunk two foul shots following Taylor's game-saving rejection.

The Spiders had opened up a 40-24 lead three minutes into the second half after Allen and Jones led an 8-0 surge. The Rams then changed the momentum with a 14-4 sequence to pull within 44-38 on a Graham layup with 8:14 remaining.

VCU, which missed 14 of its first 15 tries from beyond the arc, then suddenly found its stroke in the last minute of regulation. Johnson drained a triple with 33 seconds to go which trimmed the lead to 52-49, and two missed free throws from Anthony helped set up Graham's clutch trey out of timeout that sent it into overtime.

"I knew we needed a 3, and I stepped back to create space," Graham said. "When I shot it, I was confident it was going to go in."

Richmond got off to a torrid start offensively, making five of its first seven shots -- three of which came from beyond the arc -- to go up 13-5 just over five minutes in.

The differential swelled to 15 points later in the period after the Spiders went on a 10-0 run, which Jones both started and finished with a trey, for a 25-10 advantage with 8 1/2 minutes left in the frame.

Richmond's red-hot shooting coincided with an ice-cold performance for VCU, which began 4-of-17 from the floor before finally finding a rhythm near the end of the half.

Lewis led an 8-2 spurt and the Rams held Richmond scoreless over the final four minutes of the stanza to close within 29-20 at the break.

Game Notes

Richmond has now won its last five home games against ranked teams, including an 86-74 overtime triumph over VCU during the 2012-13 season ... The Rams' loss, coupled with Davidson's victory over Rhode Island on Wednesday, produced a tie between those three teams and Dayton for first place in the A-10 ... Graham finished with 10 rebounds and finished 14-of-18 from the foul line ... VCU still has won 11 of the 15 meetings between the city rivals since 2004.