From a big challenge to an even bigger one.
Richmond’s Justin Harper learned Thursday what it was like to play against 6-foot-11, 255-pound Festus Ezeli of Vanderbilt, and more than held his own as 12th-seeded Richmond sent the No. 5 seed home with a 69-66 upset.
Harper, Richmond’s 6-10, 225-pound center, scored 13 points.
Next up for Harper is a battle against Kenneth Faried, the nation’s leading rebounder, who helped Morehead State upset Louisville in the first game Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
“He (Faried) is a lot more mobile than what we went up against today,” Harper said. “I’ll have to change my game and be more aggressive. It’s not all about me. We have to be focused as a team.”
The Spiders, who have won eight consecutive games, didn’t view this outcome as an upset, though they were seeded much lower and hadn’t won a NCAA Tournament game since 1998.
“I wouldn’t necessarily know the difference in the two teams that played today,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. “I don’t view this game as an upset, with all due respect to Vanderbilt. I think we have a program that can compete on a national level.”
With guard Kevin Anderson supplying the firepower with three consecutive 3-pointers, the Atlantic 10 champions took their first lead with 12:05 left in the second half at 51-48 after a 12-0 spurt. They didn’t trail again although Vanderbilt came back to tie, and Richmond never led by more than four points over the final eight minutes.
“The team did a great job finding me,” Anderson said of his 3-point barrage. “I think we did a good job penetrating, kicking out to open shooters.”
Anderson finished with 25 points, 16 in the second half. Ezeli and guard John Jenkins each had 21 for Vanderbilt.
In a hectic finish, Richmond survived a last-ditch 3-point attempt by Vanderbilt’s Rod Odom, but it didn’t come close. Anderson’s floater with 18.7 seconds left helped seal the win.
“We didn’t execute on our last possession,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said of Odom’s futile attempt.
Mooney credited the strength of his bench players. Richmond’s subs outscored Vanderbilt’s bench 23-4.
“This is a team,” said Mooney, a former Air Force coach. “Kevin (Anderson) and Justin (Harper) get a lot of attention, and they deserve it. But we’re a deep team and have some players who can really contribute to winning games.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
