Location: Siegel Center
Current Records: VCU 18-9, 10-4 in A-10. St. Joe's 17-11, 7-8 in A-10.
In a nutshell: When VCU's players went into their locker room at the conclusion of the first half, they were down by six points. The St. Joe's Hawks had allowed the home team to score only 21 points, so the Rams surely knew that in the second half they had to fix whatever the hell was wrong with their attitude on offense. That, or they would continue to stink up the court in front of a homecoming sellout crowd.
We can only guess at what was said during the break, or maybe not said, but it worked like a charm. Exiting the locker room the lazy or fraidycat spell that had gripped the Rams and made them hesitate before setting a timely pick, making a bold pass, looking aggressively to take a shot, in rhythm, disappeared -- poof!
Accordingly, in the second stanza VCU lit up the scoreboard with 52 points. In the doing the Rams looked like a different team. And, it must be mentioned that the Hawks didn't back off one little bit. The result was the most entertaining half of hoops I've seen this season at the Siegel Center.
The Rams surge was led by Tobi Lewal's enthusiastic play at both ends of the floor. His stats include: 16 points (a career high) and 10 rebounds. With his dramatic, high-flying dunks and his looming presence on defense, Lewal has become a fan favorite.
NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)
● Lawal notched his fourth double-double of the season. Joe Bamisile also contributed 16 second-half points and seven rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting for the Rams. He connected on 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.● Senior guard Max Shulga supplied 12 points while dishing out five assists and grabbing six rebounds for the Rams. Graduate wing Sean Bairstow chipped in nine points and six assists to the VCU effort.
● Erik Reynolds, who hit six second-half 3-pointers, and Xzayvier Brown led Saint Joseph’s with 21 points each.
● VCU opened the half on a 11-0 run over the first three minutes to lead 32-27, capped off by a Shulga dunk on a fast break. The Rams continued their charge in the second, leading by as many as 10 with 3:29 remaining. The Hawks cut the VCU lead to two points on two occasions in the second, only to see the Rams respond with a Bamisile three and then Lawal dunk. On the Rams’ penultimate possession, Bamisile hit a 10-foot fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired to give VCU a 71-66 lead with 15 seconds on the clock.
● The Rams shot 72 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half, including 58 percent (7-of-12) from long distance.
● The first half was a near polar opposite of the second. The two teams combined to shoot 25 percent (14-of-57), including 4-of-24 from 3-point range.
● Saint Joseph’s went on a 14-2 run to open up a 18-9 lead at the 7:12 mark of the first as the Rams suffered a stretch of eight missed field goals.
● VCU matched the Hawks in scoring through the final five minutes of the half to go into the intermission down six, 27-21.
● The Rams owned a 39-32 advantage on the glass. VCU’s bench outscored Saint Joe’s 39-10.
● VCU improved to 6-0 all-time at the Siegel Center against Saint Joseph’s.
● Shulga needs just nine points to reach 1,000 for his career.
BOX SCORE
NEXT UP:
VCU will host Rhode Island on Wed., Feb. 28. Tipoff at 6:30 p.m. at the Siegel Center. That match-up will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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