During Saturday’s win over George Washington, occupants of Section 1 held another banner, “THE GIL-YARD,” re-designating the area in the name of sophomore guard Jacob Gilyard. They waved “Gilly Gilly” signs when Gilyard was introduced, a takeoff on a beer advertisement that started a “Dilly Dilly” craze, and again whenever he made notable on-court contributions.

“I think it’s awesome to have fans like that,” Spiders sophomore forward Grant Golden said. “They’re there every game, and just doing cool stuff like that gets us going and gets us excited. We know they’re there excited to see us play every night. That really means a lot to us and we appreciate it.”

Some Spiders backers express frustration regarding last season’s 12-20 finish followed by this season’s 10-14 record, and the absence of an NCAA tournament bid since Richmond’s run to the 2011 Sweet 16. Other UR fans, such as those in Section 1, are well aware of the competitive slip and continue strong commitment to the program. They want to demonstrate their spirit to the players, who are mostly freshmen and sophomores.

“We were just looking for ways to support the guys uniquely,” said Dan Schmitt, UR Class of 1996, who is among the Section 1 occupants.