Richmond guard Andre Gustavson hit a free throw with 0.6 seconds left in overtime, leading the Spiders to a 93-92 win over Vanderbilt at the Robins Center in Richmond, Va., on Thursday night.
Guards Jacob Gilyard (26), Blake Francis (24), and Nick Sherod (14) and forward Nathan Cayo (20) led the Spiders (2-0) in scoring. Gilyard had just four points at halftime.
Richmond used a 19-11 edge in turnovers and a nine-point advantage in points from the foul line, surviving Vandy's 42.9-percent 3-point shooting on 35 tries.
Vanderbilt guards Aaron Nesmith (career-high 34 points) and Saben Lee (24 points, tied for career high) gave the Commodores a chance.
But Lee's turnover on Vandy's final possession led to a Spiders breakaway. Gustavson missed a dunk, but VU guard Scotty Pippen Jr. fouled him. After a timeout, Gustavson sank the first toss, one of his three points on the night.
Lee's back-to-back 3s tied the game at 80 with 1:13 left, sending the game to overtime.
Nesmith took a pass from Lee, canning a wide-open 3 with 37 seconds left in the extra period to give Vanderbilt a 92-90 lead. But Gilyard banked in a short shot with 25 seconds left to tie.
After a timeout, Lee turned the ball over in traffic, setting up the winning free throw.
Richmond led by seven coming out of the halftime break, but four Nesmith 3s in the second half's first 2:13 put Vandy up by three. Another triple from forward Dylan Disu (11 points) at 17:07 gave the Commodores field goals in their first five second-half attempts and pushed their lead to four.
Nesmith's left-handed lay-up with 7:48 left in regulation gave VU its biggest lead (66-59) since early in the first half.
But five Commodore turnovers sparked a 12-point Richmond run to tie, the last points coming on Gilyard's open 3 with 4:13 left that gave the Spiders a five-point lead.
That lead extended to seven, but Richmond couldn't defend the 3 as Vandy took the game to overtime.
Vanderbilt led 7-0 early, but foul trouble and mistakes started to take a toll on the Commodores late in the first half. Lee and Nesmith each picked up two fouls in the first 15 minutes.
An array of Commodore turnovers helped Richmond claim a 34-24 lead late in the first half. Gilyard's reverse layup beat the halftime buzzer and gave Richmond a 36-29 lead at half.
Francis (12) and Cayo (11) led Richmond in the first 20 minutes. They scored all Richmond's points in the midst of a 15-2 run that put the Spiders ahead.
--Field Level Media
