Richmond 71, Delaware 69
Kendall Anthony calmly sank two free throws with two seconds left on Friday night and Richmond kicked off its 2013-14 season in the sparkling new Robins Center with a thrilling 71-69 win over Delaware.
Richmond squandered a six-point lead with under three minutes to play as Delaware came storming back to tie it with 1:18 remaining on a Jarvis Threatt 3-pointer. But after the teams alternated missed shots and turnovers, Anthony was hacked by Delaware's Kyle Anderson.
Richmond guard Cedrick Lindsay led all scorers with 20 points and added three steals. Spiders big man Alonzo Nelson-Ododa had a monster game with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks as Richmond evened the all-time series with Delaware at two wins each.
Marvin King-Davis came off the bench to lead Delaware in the first half with eight points and four rebounds after starting forward Carl Baptiste picked up two early fouls. But King-Davis saw limited minutes in the second half and was scoreless with one board after halftime.
Blue Hens star Devon Saddler, who came into the game tied for second place on the NCAA Division I active career scoring list, was held to six first-half points before finishing with a team-high 17. Threatt added 14 for the Blue Hens and Davon Usher contributed 10.
Richmond opened the second half on a 13-5 run and built its lead to as much as 10 points with 11 minutes to play. But Delaware came storming back with an 18-6 run of its own -- including eight points from Threatt -- to retake the lead at 61-59 with 5:01 left.
Lindsay tied it at 61 and then assisted on a 3-pointer to Anthony, who finished with nine points, to give Richmond in the lead with just over three minutes left. Terry Allen added 11 points for the Spiders.
Friday marked the first of four home games to open the season for the Spiders, who will next host Belmont on Monday. Delaware returns to action on Sunday in its home opener against Charleston Southern.
