Anderson scores 24, including late jumper, as No. 25 Richmond beats George Washington 74-70

Anderson leads No. 25 Richmond past GW 74-70

RICHMOND, Va. — Kevin Anderson had 24 points, including a 15-foot jumper with 1:22 left that gave No. 25 Richmond the lead in a 74-70 victory over George Washington on Saturday night.

The Spiders (22-6, 11-2 Atlantic 10) won their eighth straight — their longest winning streak since 1997-98 — and remained atop the conference standings thanks to a game-ending 8-2 run. Anderson’s go-ahead jumper followed two free throws by Kevin Smith that tied it with 2:35 to play.

The Colonials (14-11, 4-8) had won two in a row, but lost for the eighth time in 11 games despite a career-high 25 points from freshman Lasan Kromah.

Ryan Butler added 17 points and Smith had 11 for Richmond. Anderson added seven assists.

Tony Taylor was George Washington’s only other scorer in double figures with 14 points.

Smith’s two free throws made it 68-all with 2:35 left. After a missed shot by the Colonials, Anderson hit a pull-up from the right elbow to give Richmond the lead, whipping the largest crowd at the Robins Center in eight years into a frenzy.

Following a turnover by the Colonials, Anderson appeared to double the lead with a driving basket, but was called instead for an offensive foul, giving George Washington a reprieve. But Butler blocked a shot at the other end and Anderson was fouled and made a pair of free throws, giving Richmond a 72-68 lead with 54.8 seconds to go.

The crowd of 9,025 was the largest for a Spiders home game since 9,171 turned out on March 20, 2002, to see Richmond lose to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the NIT.

Richmond finished with 10 steals and only seven turnovers, the 11th time this season — and third consecutive game — that coach Chris Mooney’s team had more steals than giveaways.

Richmond led 56-51 after Butler’s fourth 3-pointer with 11:38 to play, and it was the largest lead for either team in the second half. Kromah answered that with a 3 of his own, and neither team led by more than three until the very end. The lead changed 11 times in the half, and it was tied for the fifth time when Smith made the two critical free throws.

The Colonials used a 22-8 run spanning nine minutes to turn a 15-6 deficit into a 28-23 lead with 2:41 to play before halftime, but were outscored 6-0 — all on free throws — the rest of the half.

The Spiders shot just 1 for 13 from the field over the final 11:52 of the half, but still led 29-28 at the break. They were 11 for 13 from the free-throw line during the field-goal drought, when Justin Harper’s 3-pointer with 4:45 left was their lone basket from the field.