That team lost 5,737 points to graduation. This team was .500 and three games under .500 in the league.
So what happens? Richmond put the Hawks to sleep early, let them back in just before halftime, took control early in the second half with three consecutive treys, led by nine with 5 minutes left and then let the Hawks back again in the final seconds before winning on very late free throws.
It was Richmond, 52-49, and every bit as torturous as that sounds. If anybody loved it, it had to be Pete Carril. The old Princeton coach was in the house to see Spiders coach Chris Mooney, his former player.
"We let the game get slowed to not even a walking pace," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said.
It was a strange game with bizarre endings to each half and more than a few unusual calls.
The teams combined to miss 17 of 38 free-throw attempts and 52 of 86 field-goal attempts. SJU also had the same problem Temple had on Jan. 14. The Hawks could not guard Richmond big man Derrick Williams, who made the clinching free throw and hit three treys in the first half after making just nine (38 attempts) all season. Williams had 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Owls. Temple has not lost since.
So what was up with the Hawks? "We took them lightly because we beat them at their house," Tay Jones said. "We came out kind of flat."
Jones' running mate, Langston Galloway, was the Hawks' offense, but he needed 14 shots to get his 15 points. Richmond switched everything and never let the Hawks get comfortable on offense. The floor always seemed crowded because Richmond was so active on defense.
Looked like the Hawks were about to get control late in the first half. Then they were called for fouls against three-point shooters on the final two Richmond possessions at a time when they actually had fouls to give. Strange.
