VCU Punishes Richmond, 77-to-57

Final Score: VCU 77, Richmond 57

Location: Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center)
Current Records: VCU 18-7 (11-3 Atlantic 10), Richmond 17-10 (8-6)

After playing Richmond even in the first half, 28 points apiece,VCU exploded for 49 points in the second half. Noteworthy numbers: The Rams outscored the Spiders in points-in-the-paint by 40-to-24. And, VCU won the battle-of-the-boards by 42-to-31. 

Lately, VCU's head coach, Mike Rhoades, has been preaching to his Rams to please cut down on their turnovers and this time they apparently heard him, because VCU committed just 8 TOs and it beat a good team by 20 points. Plus, here are some stats put up by individuals: Baldwin with 15 pts., 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. Williams with 15 pts., 4 rebounds, 2 blocks. Brown-Jones with 11 pts., 7 rebounds.

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

OPENING TIP

·      Sophomore forward Mikeal Brown-Jones' 11 points were a career-high. He shot 4-of-5 from the field

·      Freshman forward Jalen DeLoach added seven points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for VCU, while classmate Jayden Nunn added nine points

·       Tyler Burton led Richmond with 13 points

 

THE DIFFERENCE

·       VCU shot 57 percent (17-of-30) and held Richmond to 8-of-23 shooting from the floor in the second half, outscoring the Spiders 49-29 in the half. The Black and Gold led by as many as 24 in the second half

·       VCU outscored Richmond 18-6 in bench points. The Rams and Spiders played a back-and-forth first half before Richmond used on a 6-0 run to take a 28-22 lead with 1:42 remaining in the half

·       Freshman forward Nick Kern scored on a second-chance layup with 1:04 remaining in the half, sparking a 6-0 run for the Rams to tie the game at 28-28 heading into halftime

 

NOTABLE

·       VCU has swept the regular season series from Richmond and now leads the all-time series 57-31

·       VCU has won five in a row and extended its streak over Richmond to three

·       VCU played without starting junior forward Hason Ward, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle

 

NEXT UP
The Rams host George Mason on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. The game will air on MASN2 and ESPN+.