Burton, Golden lead No. 19 Richmond past Northern Iowa

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Tyler Burton had 21 points and 13 rebounds and No. 19 Richmond used a 21-6 run in the second half to pull away from Northern Iowa, 78-68 on Wednesday night.

Grant Golden added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Spiders (4-0). Blake Francis scored 16 points and Jacob Gilyard had 12 points and 11 assists. The Spiders bench was outscored 27-6.

Tywhon Pickford scored 16 points for Northern Iowa (1-4), Austin Phyfe had 15 and Trae Berhow added 13. The Panthers, who tied a school record with 20 3-pointers in their opening loss to Western Kentucky, made only three of 19 tries against the Spiders.

The Spiders trailed 39-36 before a basket by Francis sparked the big run. He and Burton each scored five points in the burst, which ended with the Spiders ahead 57-45 with 10 minutes to play. The Panthers didn't get closer than five the rest of the way.

The Spiders led 19-14 before going cold as the Panthers went on an 18-3 run to lead 32-22 with 4 minutes left in the half. Richmond closed with a 9-1 run to get back within 33-31.

BIG PICTURE

Northern Iowa: The Panthers played their second consecutive game without guard A.J. Green, whose season appears to be jeopardized by a hip injury. The preseason player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference, Green averaged 22.3 points and 36.3 minutes in the first three games of the season.

Richmond: The Spiders continue to reach milestones. Their victory Monday against Wofford came in their first game as a top 20 team since December 1957 and the victory against the Panthers gave them back-to-back 4-0 starts to the season for the first time since the 1953-54 and 1954-55 seasons. The 1954-55 team won its first five games.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Those come on Sunday for the Spiders when they travel to Morgantown, West Virginia to play the 11th-ranked Mountaineers.

UP NEXT

The Panthers are back at home against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday.

Richmond plays at No. 11 West Virginia on Sunday.

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