Having dominated UNCW earlier this season, Shaka Smart made sure his players wouldn’t fall victim to the classic “let down” tonight in Wilmington. After threatening to pull away early, VCU took control in the second half and ended up with a 73-60 win.

Ed Nixon scored a career high 19 points in the victory. Nixon went 3-6 from long range and only missed 4 of his 11 shots on the evening.

Larry Sanders’ 5 assists were a team high on the night. Sanders lead the Rams in scoring coming into this game but was held scoreless for the first time this season. Sanders had 10 rebounds.

Joey Rodriguez came into this game tied for 5th in the country in assists and continued his solid play posting 18 points, 5 rebounds, and an assist in the Rams win.

The win coupled with a William and Mary loss leaves VCU tied with Drexel for that crucial 4th seed heading into this weekends home game against Old Dominion.

Three of VCU’s next four games are against teams in the top 3rd of the conference (ODU, @Mason, and Drexel).

The Rams move to 16-5 on the season, 8-4 in the CAA.