Men’s basketball (13-3, 2-1 Atlantic-10) is off to a strong start in A-10 play on the backs of defeating two Top-100 teams in Division I.
The Revolutionaries emerged with a statement victory over previously 22nd-ranked Dayton on Jan. 4 (11-5, 1-2 A-10) 82-62 after dropping the conference opener to Richmond (7-10, 2-2 A-10) 66-61 on Dec. 31. The Revs followed the win with a 75-67 victory over Rhode Island (13-3, 2-2 A-10) on Jan. 8, becoming the first team to beat the Rams on their home court this season.
Dayton, who defeated the back-to-back National Champion University of Connecticut Huskies earlier this season, spent a week ranked 22nd in the NCAA Division I polls in mid-December. Buchanan was not active for the game due to an injury.
Redshirt freshman guard Christian Jones set a career-high with 23 points, shooting 50 percent from the field, including 5-8 from three. Graduate student guard Gerald Drumgoole Jr. recorded 21 points, going 5-12 from beyond the arc and sophomore guard Trey Autry recorded a career-high 17 points.
The Revs came out of the gate firing against the Flyers, jumping out to a 23-7 lead at the 13:30 mark on the back of threes from Drumgoole, Jones and Autry. The teams traded buckets in the first half, with the Revs holding a 43-27 lead at the break. The Flyers stormed out of the half to cut the lead to 48-43 at the 15:47 mark, and the Revs’ lead remained single digits for the majority of the half.
Junior guard Javon Bennett got a layup to go at the 6:32 mark to get Dayton within four points, causing Head Coach Chris Caputo to call a timeout. Out of the well-timed timeout, the Revs went on an 18-2 run in the final five minutes of play to notch their first victory in conference play and knock off the second seed in the A-10 preseason polls.
After the convincing victory over a previously ranked opponent on home court, the Revs traveled to Kingston, Rhode Island to take on the Rams, and a 75-67 victory would end Rhode Island’s 9-0 start from the Thomas M. Ryan Center.
Again playing without their leading scorer Buchanan, redshirt junior forward Rafael Castro would lead the Revs offensively with 16 points, shooting 70 percent from the field. Hutchinson and graduate student forward Sean Hansen both recorded double figures, and Autry would notch his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Revs started strong with an Autry layup to take a 17-7 lead at the 12:37 mark. The Rams fought back, cutting the lead to 6 points on a tip-in from senior guard Quentin Diboundje halfway through the first half. The teams traded baskets in the back half of the first half, with the Revs hanging on to a 38-30 lead as time expired.
While the Revs led by as many as 10 in the first 10 minutes of the second quarter, Rhode Island matched them point for point. A pair of free throws from senior guard Sebastian Thomas got the Rams within two at the 10:06 mark and a Diboundje dunk tied up the game with 9:31 to play.
The Rams took a 58-57 lead on a Thomas free throw with 8:29 to play, but the Revs continued to fight back. After the teams traded leads for four minutes, Hansen was fouled on his successful layup attempt and completed the 3-point play to give the Revs a 64-61 lead at the 4:14 mark. Hutchinson would follow suit, completing a 3-point play of his own to bump the Revs lead to six with just under four minutes to play and a pair of Hansen free throws would close out the Rams and hand them their first loss at home this season.
In their opening matchup with Richmond, Drumgoole led the way offensively for the Revs, recording 27 points, including seven 3-pointers. Redshirt junior guard Trey Moss and redshirt sophomore forward Darren Buchanan Jr. tallied 11 points apiece, with Buchanan adding nine rebounds.
Despite a three-point lead within the first six minutes of play, the Revs found themselves trailing 29-21 at the half. Out of the break, the Revs would take a 38-37 lead at the 14:17 mark on the back of a Drumgoole three, one of three he drained to start the half.
After taking the lead, the Revs would go on an 12-2 run spanning just under five minutes left, with the score sitting at 50-38 at the 9:30 mark. At the 6:18 mark, the Spiders would begin to cut into the Revs’ lead, cutting the lead to five with 4:56 to play. The Revs held on to a 61-57 lead after a Drumgoole layup with 1:37 left, the last points the Revs scored in the contest. The Spiders immediately responded with a 3-pointer from junior forward Apostolos Roumoglou to cut the lead to one with just over a minute to play. After Buchanan’s jumper was off-target, the Revs were handed a loss in their opening game of A-10 play.
Before beginning A-10 play, the Revs finished their out-of-conference slate with a pair of victories, defeating Lafayette 82-62 on Dec. 18 and taking care of business against Division II University of Virginia Wise 102-62 in their final test before conference play. The Revs concluded their out-of-conference schedule with an 11-2 record, one loss better than their 11-3 record in nonconference play last season.
With the two strong victories over conference foes, the Revs sit at 2-1 in A-10 play and 13-3 overall on the season. The Revs welcome former player Maximus Edwards and his Duquesne Dukes (2-1, 7-9 A-10) to the Smith Center on Wednesday, Jan. 15 with tipoff set for 7 p.m.