GAME NOTES: The Richmond Spiders and Pepperdine Waves will meet each other in "The World's Most Famous Arena" on Saturday night, as they square off in the Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Kendall Anthony scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures, as Richmond defeated South Alabama on Thursday, 65-54. Terry Allen accounted for 17 points and nine rebounds for the Spiders, followed by ShawnDre' Jones and TJ Cline with 14 and 10 points, respectively, as they won for the second straight time and improved to 5-0 at home.

After failing to make a single appearance at the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes, Richmond connected on 11-of-14 at the charity stripe in the second half en route to the double-digit triumph. The Spiders, who led by as many as 13, forced 14 turnovers and recorded seven blocks.

Anthony enters Saturday's clash as the team's leading scorer with a 15.2 ppg mark on 47.2 percent shooting from the floor. Allen is the only other player to average a scoring total in double figures, contributing 11.0 ppg. The 61.8 ppg Richmond is averaging is pretty poor, but fortunately, foes have only been able to manage 57.4 ppg.

Opponents are also having trouble getting buckets against Pepperdine this season. The Waves rank first in the country in 3-point field goal defense at 20.5 percent. They limited Howard to a paltry 45 points on Wednesday and won by nine despite going nearly eight minutes without scoring in the second half.

Stacy Davis notched his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Amadi Udenyi scored a career-high 16 points in the defensive battle. The Waves shot just 30.2 percent from the floor and only had six players show up on the scoring chart.

Still, a win is a win, and a victory against Richmond would give Pepperdine its best record after 10 games since the 1999-2000 season. Davis can be thanked for the fast start, as he is posting 16.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Jeff Raines is contributing 11.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg, while Jeremy Majors, Atif Russell and Shawn Olden all hover around 9.0 ppg.

This is Richmond's first trip to MSG since 2003, but the Spiders are 2-0 in the Gotham Classic. They have met Pepperdine only once on the hardwood and lost 12 years ago at a neutral site. Expect them to redeem that loss, despite Davis and Co.'s strong start to this season.