St. Louis Staves Off VCU Rally

Final Score: St. Louis 69, VCU 65

Location: St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)

Records: VCU 21-8, 14-4 in A-10; St. Louis 21-10, 12-6 in A-10

 

VCU ended the regular season with a loss to St. Louis. Consequently, the Rams will be the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament in Washington, D.C., March 9-13. Alas, if VCU had won, it would have been the top seed in tournament. Rams senior forward Vince Williams, Jr. scored a career-high 26 points.

 

The information below was supplied by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D. 

OPENING TIP

·      Williams connected on 7-12 attempts from the floor and 9-of-11 at the free throw line. He added four rebounds and a blocked shot

·      Sophomore guard Ace Baldwin Jr. scored all 12 of his points in the second-half to aid the VCU rally. He also handed out six assists

·      Senior guard KeShawn Curry and freshman guard Jayden Nunn added eight points a piece for the Black and Gold

·      Gibson Jimerson led the Billikens with 19 points

 

THE DIFFERENCE

·      Saint Louis led by as many as 21 points with 17:32 remaining before the Rams started to chip away

·      Baldwin provided three buckets and Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers to fuel a 12-0 VCU run that pulled the Rams within 66-65 with 47.1 seconds remaining. Saint Louis’ Yuri Collins was able to drive to the lane for two to stop the bleeding with 26 ticks remaining. VCU had a look from three on its final possession, but could not connect

·      The Billikens shot 52 percent (12-of-23) from the field in the first half on the way to a 41-23 lead at the break

·      VCU finished the game 3-of-17 from 3-point range

 

NOTABLE

·      VCU shot 53 percent (16-of-30) in the second half

·      Williams has topped 20 points four times this season

 

NEXT UP

VCU has earned a double-bye in the A-10 Tournament and will suit up for a quarterfinal contest on Friday, March 11 at 8:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena. The Rams will face the winner of Thursday’s game between sixth-seeded Richmond and the winner of Wednesday’s Duquesne-Rhode Island first round game. VCU’s quarterfinal contest can be seen nationally on USA Network.