Rams Winning Streak Halted; Bonnies Prevail

Final score: St. Bonaventure 67, VCU 62
Location: St. Bonaventure, N.Y. (Reilly Center)
Current Records: St. Bonaventure 13-7, 4-4 in A-10. VCU 13-8, 5-3 in A-10. 

In a nutshell: The confidence Head Coach Ryan Odom's VCU team displayed in winning five consecutive games carried over into the first 17 minutes of this road game. At the 2:51 mark of the first half the Rams led by 20 points, 39-to-19. 

Then, poof! the swagger disappeared and the Bonnies finished the half on a seven-to-zero run. In the second half VCU was outscored, 41-to-23. 

In the first half, VCU sank 10 of the 15 treys attempted. Hot-handed Max Shulga made good on all five of his treys attempted. In the second half, the Rams sank just one of their 14 three-point shots they fired up. 

While Shulga finished the night having scored a season-high 25 points, it wasn’t enough to stave off St. Bonaventure's steady second stanza comeback. In the game's last five minutes, the Rams coughed up the lead they had held throughout most of the contest. 

NOTES: (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)

• Shulga finished 6-of-9 from beyond the arc for the Rams. He was 8-of-12 from the field overall and added four rebounds and three assists. 
• In all, four Rams scored in double figures, including senior guard Joe Bamisile, who added 13 points and five rebounds. 
• Senior guard Zeb Jackson and graduate forward Kuany Kuany added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Black and Gold. 
• Daryl Banks III led four Bonnies in double figures with 15 points. 
• It was a tale of two halves for the Rams, who shot 54 percent (14-of-26) from the floor in the first half, but connected on just 26 percent (7-of-27) from the field in the second. At halftime VCU headed into the locker room with a 39-26 advantage. 
• The offensive glass fueled Bona’s comeback. The Bonnies corralled 11 offensive boards in the second half alone and turned them into 12 second-chance points. St. Bonaventure owned a 43-30 rebounding edge in the game overall, including 16-5 on the offensive end. 
• An Adams-Woods free throw trimmed the Rams’ lead to 48-44 with 9:37 remaining, but Bamisile answered with a traditional three-point play on a hard drive to the bucket. But a short time later, Banks punctuated a 15-5 Bona run with a 3-pointer and gave the Bonnies their first lead of the night at 59-56 with 4:35 on the clock. The Rams rallied to retake the lead when Jackson finished a lefty layup and drew a foul for a three-point play that gave the Rams a 61-59 lead with 3:59 just left in the contest. 
• Charles Pride hit a pair of go-ahead free throws for Bona with 1:15 remaining that made it 63-62. VCU’s next two possessions produced a missed 3-point attempt and a turnover, and Mika Adams-Woods extended Bona’s advantage to 65-62 on a pair of free throws with 18.1 left. The Rams got a pair of looks from 3-point range on their final possession, but were unable to get either to fall. 
• Bona connected on 20-of-23 free throws, while VCU converted 9-of-11 opportunities.
• VCU held the Bonnies to 36 percent (21-of-59) shooting in the game, including 5-of-22 from 3-point range. 
• VCU saw its 11-game road win streak, the longest active streak in the country, come to an end in Tuesday’s loss.

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP:

VCU will host Richmond on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Siegel Center. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.