Richmond took control mid-way through the second half and held on to beat Rhode Island, 55-45, in a rock fight to reach the semifinals of the 2011 Atlantic 10 tournament.

The Spiders won despite shooting a miserable 32.1% from the field (18-56) and 19.2% from beyond the three-point line (5-36).  Richmond only turned the ball over six times and outrebounded the Rams, 40-33.

Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper combined for 33 points for Richmond, while Marquis Jones led Rhody with 14.  Harper grabbed a game-high 13 boards.

After the Rams took a 32-31 lead on Will Martell's layup with 13:50 remaining, Richmond ran off 10 consecutive points over the next 6:30, taking a lead they wouldn't relinquish.  The Spiders avenged a regular season home loss to the Rams in running their record to 25-7 and likely assured themselves of an NCAA Tournament bid.

Richmond advances to take on Temple Saturday afternoon at 3:30 in Atlantic City.  The winner draws the unlikely Dayton/St. Joe's winner for the A-10 autobid.