Washington, D.C. — The Richmond Spiders defeated the George Washington Colonials 98-90 Thursday night in double overtime. Richmond led by three with less than ten seconds to play in regulation but chose not to foul ball handler Paul Jorgensen, who promptly hit a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
Richmond (11-8, 3-4 A10) struggled to score early in the first overtime period. The Spiders trailed 85-82 until ShawnDre’ Jones hit his only three-pointer of the night to tie the game at 85 and send it into double overtime. Jones finished with a team-high 29 points and filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block.
Richmond took control in the second overtime thanks to great guard play. Jones and Khwan Fore scored all 13 points in the final period. Fore provided the clincher when the six-foot guard threw down a vicious dunk to put the Spiders ahead 95-87. Fore finished with a career-high 18 points and also added three rebounds and a steal.
George Washington (15-5, 4-3 A10) relied heavily on Kevin Larsen (17 points and nine rebounds) and Tyler Cavanaugh (16 points and 14 rebounds) in suffering its first loss in twelve home games this season.
The game marks the second time in as many seasons that Richmond and George Washington have played a double-overtime game at the Charles E. Smith Center. In 2015, the Colonials chose to foul with a three-point lead and time winding down. Richmond senior guard Kendall Anthony was determined to be in the act of shooting when he was fouled. Anthony hit all three free throws and sent the game to overtime. GW eventually triumphed 73-70 in two overtimes.
One key to Richmond’s victory was reversing a statistical anomaly that occurred Monday night. The Spiders shot 0-15 from three point range. Thursday, Richmond hit six threes in the first half alone and made 11 for the game. Marshall Wood did most of that deep damage. After an 0-6 shooting performance Monday including 0-2 from three point range, Wood made seven of his eight attempts from beyond the arc. Wood finished with 22 points and seven rebounds.
The Spiders play another road game Sunday afternoon at St. Bonaventure. The Colonials play at George Mason Sunday at noon.
