Box Score Richmond, VA—James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III scored a game-high 18 points but too many turnovers at some in opportune times and some cold second half shooting proved to be the difference as the University of Richmond pulled away to a 54-41 win over Howard in the Gotham Classic at the Robins Center.
 
The game was one of swings by both teams early. The Bison (5-6) came out early and took a 5-0 lead on two jumpers by Daniel.  Then the Spiders (4-4) threatened to put the game away early when they bolted out to a 24-7 lead at the 8:58 mark.
                 
But the scrappy, young Bison, which start four sophomores, refused to fold and the Big Three of James "JC" Carlton, James "JT" Miller and Daniel fueled a rally by combining for all of the points during a 16-4 run that reduced the deficit to 28-23 at the half.
                 
Neither team was able to get any flow offensively in the second stanza.  Howard shot 17 percent after intermission and Richmond just a tad better at 27 percent.  So it came down to who would take care of the ball better and who would make free throws. Howard turned the ball over 10 times in the second half that led to 12 Spiders points.  The Spiders knocked down 12 of 21 from the free throw line, including seven straight during a stretch when Howard was unable to score.
                 
"The majority of their points came off points off turnovers and free throws in the second half," lamented Howard head Coach Kevin Nickelberry.  "When you hold a team to 54 points, you think you have a chance to win.  But you cannot turn the ball over, miss layups and give up points and expect to win."
                 
Perhaps, the key point came midway through the second half when Howard reduced another double-digit defict to 40-34.  But the Bison failed to capitalize on three straight possessions.  From there, the Spiders got six free throws from Terry Allen and a three pointer from ShawnDre Jones that pushed the lead back to double digits.
                 
"It has been the same thing in all of our losses on the road," said Nickelberry.  "We put ourselves in a position to win, but somehow we make mistakes that hurt us.  We are playing four sophomores over 30 minutes each and the reality is that we have not yet learned how to win.  There are things that we have to fix in order to accomplish that."
                 
Coming into the game, Nickelberry said there were two keys for the Bison to come out victorious:  to dominate the boards and force turnovers.  The Bison, who came into the game ranking among the nation's leaders, outrebounded the Spider by only 33-32.  Richmond, which came into the game ranked among the nation's best in fewest turnovers with only 10 per game, uncharacteristically wilted under the Bison pressure and turned the ball over 15 times.
                 
Carlton finished with 12 points before fouling out while Miller contributed 10.  Richmond was led by Jones, who came off the bench to lead his team with 11.  Eight different players scored for the Spiders, whose bench outscored their counterparts, 22-0No other Spider player scored.
                 
"We have to get something from our bench," he noted.
                 
NEXT UP: Howard hosts IUPUI in the next round of the Gotham Classic on Monday at 6 pm in Burr Gymnasium.