Quick Report: Richmond 70, Saint Joseph's 66

Lamarr Kimble (above) had 17 points as St. Joe's fell 70-66 to Richmond at home on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

A wide early second-half deficit proved to be too much to overcome for Saint Joseph’s, as the Hawks’ comeback attempt fell short in a 70-66 loss to Richmond at Hagan Arena on Saturday.

At First…
Playing its fourth game without junior guard and leading scorer Shavar Newkirk (torn ACL), St. Joe’s came out confident. Early 3-pointers by sophomores Lamarr Kimble and Chris Clover -- off a feed from Kimble gave the Hawks a three-point advantage, as the teams played within three points of each other for a majority of the opening 17 minutes. Richmond briefly opened up a 26-20 advantage 4:54 before halftime, but St. Joe’s scored eight of the next 11 points to close the gap back to one.

Richmond (11-6, 5-0) dominated the final three minutes of the first half, getting a trio of 3-pointers to close out the period on a 12-0 run and lead 41-28 at the break. The run continued into the second half; Spiders guard Khwan Fore opened the period with a 3-point play to push the lead to 16, and the advantage briefly reached 18 before St. Joe’s responded. The Hawks used a 14-2 run to get back into things, as freshmen Charlie Brown and Nick Robinson each made several shots.

Turning Point…

Saint Joseph’s whittled the Richmond advantage all the way down to a single point inside the final two minutes, and had a two possessions to go ahead in the final 90 seconds. An offensive foul on Lamarr Kimble ended the first, and the Hawks got a great look the next time down the court, but a corner 3-pointer by Brown went down-and-out. After ShawnDre’ Jones put Richmond up 67-64 with 28 seconds left, St. Joe's couldn't get a 3-pointer to fall from James Demery, and a Chris Clover layup with three seconds left was too little, too late.

Standout Stars…
Richmond forward T.J. Cline was far and away the best player on the court at Hagan Arena on Saturday. The 6-9 senior and son of women’s basketball legend Nancy Lieberman showed why he’s one of the most versatile big men in the country, coming one assist shy of a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Fellow senior ShawnDre’ Jones led Richmond with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Lamarr Kimble, St. Joe’s sophomore point guard and one of three team captains, paced the Hawks with 17 points. Robinson (14 points) and Brown (13) combined for 27 points on 8-of-20 shooting.

Noteworthy Numbers…

17: St. Joe's turned the ball over 17 times in the loss, an out of character performance for a Hawks squad that turns the ball over just 11.7 times per contest.

4: The Hawks only connected on four three-pointers against Richmond, tying their third lowest mark of the season. Their four makes from beyond the arc came on 17 attempts, for a mark of .235.

Up Next…

Saint Joseph’s (8-8, 2-3 Atlantic 10) @ UMass (11-6, 1-3) -- Wed., Jan. 18, 7:00 PM