Location: Siegel Center in Richmond
Records: VCU 1-0. Bellamine 0-1.
In a nutshell: VCU head coach Ryan Odom used 10 players to coast to an easy victory before a packed house (7,637). Long distance shooters connected on 15 of 29 attempts from 3-point distance.
Stats: Max Shulga with 19 pts., 5 rebounds and 5 assists; Joe Bamisile with 18 pts, (which included a couple of crowd-pleasing monster dunks); Phillip Russell with 16 pts., 4 assists and 3 steals; Jack Clark with 11 pts., 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots; Michael Belle with 6 pts. and 10 boards.
Best thing? No one was seriously injured.
NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)
· Shulga shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
· The Rams knocked shot 53 percent (29-of-55) overall from the field in the game
· VCU redshirt sophomore Fats Billups III knocked down a contested three with four minutes remaining in the first half to give the Rams a 13-point lead at 38-25 with 4:05 left
· Russell buried back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to push the Rams to a 51-40 advantage with 18:16 showing
· Later, Bamisile keyed a 10-0 Black and Gold blitz with a pair of thunderous baseline dunks to extend the VCU margin to 70-51 with 10:13 left in the game. VCU led for 38:29 of the game.
NEXT UP: The Rams will travel to Annapolis for the Veterans Classic. VCU will face Boston College on Fri., Nov. 8. Tipoff at 6 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network.
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