DENTON, Texas (AP) Jacob Gilyard and Tyler Burton scored 18 points each and Richmond overcame the absence of their top two scorers to beat Toledo 76-66 in the opening game of the NIT Tournament on Wednesday.
A basket by Matt Grace - making his first start in his 82nd career game at Richmond - with under 12 minutes left gave the Spiders their first lead since 2-0. After 10 lead changes over 5 1/2 minutes, Nathan Cayo scored seven points in a 9-0 run that left Richmond ahead 66-58. A 3-pointer by Jacob Gilyard made it 71-62 with 1:35 to go.
The two-seed Spiders (14-8) were without Blake Francis (16.1 ppg), who hurt his back in their regular-season finale, and Grant Golden (12.7), who has been limited by a finger he broke in a Feb. 23 game.
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