March 7, 2007

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The Richmond men's basketball team battled fifth seed Fordham the entire way and led by two in the final minute, but Marcus Stout converted a traditional three-point play in the final minute as the Rams pulled out a 63-61 victory Wednesday at Boardwalk Hall.

It was a similar finish to the first meeting between the two teams, when Stout's driving lay-up in the closing seconds helped Fordham pull out a 58-55 win in the Robins Center.

Neither team led by more than four points in a second-half that featured eight lead changes and four ties. Richmond senior Peter Thomas gave the Spiders a 61-59 victory with 44 seconds remaining, but Stout converted a lay-up and foul shot with 29.5 seconds to put Fordham back up 62-61.

The Spiders had two chances to win the game in the final 29 seconds. Freshman Brian Morris missed a 3-point attempt with about 13 seconds to play, but Richmond freshman David Gonzalvez tapped the ball back out to junior Oumar Sylla.

After a time out with 7.2 seconds to play, Gonzalvez drove the baseline but his shot was partially blocked by Kevin Anderson, preserving the win.

Fordham's Sebastian Greene added a free throw with less than a second to play for the Rams (18-11), which will face fourth-seeded Rhode Island (17-13) in the second round on Thursday at Boardwalk Hall.

"Certainly I'm very proud of how we played," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "I thought we played very, very well, with a lot of energy, a lot of heart. I couldn't be prouder of how we played."

Richmond freshman Dan Geriot, who was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, scored 22 of his career-high 27 points in the second half. He made a career-high 12 field goals in 15 attempts and connected on a career-high three 3-pointers. The 6-foot-8 center also grabbed five rebounds.

Freshman David Gonzalvez scored 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting and tying a career-high with eight rebounds.

"Those two guys played terrific today obviously," Mooney said of Geriot and Gonzalvez. "Brian Morris, another freshman, I thought was good."

Fordham's Bryant Dunston scored 21 points to lead the Rams, who have won five straight games. A three-point play by Dunston gave the Rams a 59-55 edge with 2:18 to play, but the Spiders scored the next six points, the last two on a lay-up by Thomas that put Richmond up 61-59. A steal by Morris led to the fast-beak lay-up by Thomas, who had six points in his final game in a Spider uniform.

"We lose one senior, Peter Thomas," Mooney said. "Gaston Moliva, who has been injured, comes back so I think there's a lot for us to build on."