RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond’s men’s basketball team earned its finest win of the season on Friday thanks to one of the finer performances of big man Terry Allen’s career.
Allen poured in a career-high 34 points and hauled in 13 rebounds to lead the Spiders (4-2) past No. 14 ranked Cal 94-90 in the finale of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on Friday.
Exactly how impressive was Allen’s performance?
“Defies description,” Spiders head coach Chris Mooney said of his senior forward. “He’s an incredible player and performed tonight on a big stage.”
In front of a national TV audience and a handful of professional scouts, Allen displayed supreme versatility against an athletic Cal team that saw itself bounced out of the Top 25 after losses against Richmond and San Diego State during the two-day invitational.
Allen, who scored 54 points during the Spiders two contests, got to the free-throw line at will, connecting on 17-21 attempts. Many of Allen’s trip to the line came during the waning minutes as he helped the Spiders secure their 13th win over a ranked opponent since 2008.
Allen’s 17 made free throws were also the most of any player since Kenny Foster knocked down 18 in 1969.
“He was just tremendous,” Mooney added of Allen, who was named to the all-tournament team and later the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. “With all the talent out there, I think he was the best player on the court tonight.”
Richmond also got quality efforts from junior ShawnDre’ Jones, who scored 22 points with four assists and went 11-of-12 performance from the line, as well as Marshall Wood, who netted a career-high 18 points. Wood’s biggest contributions came from beyond the arc, as the junior transfer buried four big 3s that helped the Spiders build a 15-point lead in the second half.
The victory came one day after Richmond suffered a 67-59 setback against unbeaten West Virginia (5-0).
The Spiders return to the court Tuesday for another big matchup against Florida in Gainesville. We’ll provide LIVE UPDATES of the game right here.
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