ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jacob Gilyard, Grant Golden and Nathan Cayo all scored more than 20 points Wednesday night and Richmond overcame some shaky moments down the stretch and a career game by Javon Bess to defeat Saint Louis 84-81.
Golden had 19 of his 23 points in the first half as the Spiders (8-13, 2-6 Atlantic 10 Conference) built a 10-point lead and led 47-40 on Gildyard's 3 just before intermission.
Cayo had 14 of his 21 in the second half, including a jumper that made it 78-67 with 2:31 to go. But Richmond had five of its 11 second-half turnovers after that and Bess rallied the Billikens.
Saint Louis (14-7, 5-3) scored seven quick points before Cayo had a layup that gave Richmond a 80-74 lead heading into the final minute. A free throw followed by a Bess floater in the lane made it a one-possession game with 41.5 to go. Gilyard, who had 12 of his 24 in each half, made two free throws before a basket by Bess and a layup by Fred Thatch Jr. following a backcourt turnover with 18.7 seconds remaining.
Gilyard missed the front end of a 1-and-1 — Richmond's only miss on 17 free throws — but when Bess drove into the lane and tried to split two defenders, Jake Wojcik got his hand on the ball and Gilyard recovered. He was fouled and cashed in on the 1-and-1. Bess' half-court heave was an airball with .9 left but the Spiders threw the ball away at half court and Bess got another half court toss at the buzzer that went off the front of the rim and over the backboard.
Bess hit five 3s and scored 31 points. The Billikens shot 33 percent in the second half while Richmond shot 58 percent for the game.
