VCU (16-6, 7-2) needed a win on the road to remain in the at-large talk—and while it wasn’t always pretty—the Rams were able to escape with a 60-50 win against George Washington University.
Havoc showed its horns in Foggy Bottom as the Rams forced the Colonials into 17 turnovers with 6 of those coming from steals. VCU managed to convert those 17 turnovers into 13 points—while only coughing up the ball 14 times themselves.
With just 1:40 left in the first half Armel Potter (11pts) hit a layup for the Colonials to snatch the lead, 30-28.
But a jumper in the paint by big man, Marcus Santos-Silva, and then a pair of free throws and a layup from De’Riante Jenkins, gave the Rams a 6-2 run to finish the first half up by 4 points.
Jenkins led the Rams in scoring with 14 points on 6-10 shooting overall from the floor. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and 2 steals before the final whistle was blown.
Overall the Rams shot 43% to GW’s 34% from the floor.
And, while VCU struggled from range—they went 3-20 for 15%—the Rams were able to take make the most of their size differential by scoring 34 points in the paint.
Santos-Silva recorded his 4th double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Junior, Marcus Evans, was the only other Ram to reach double digit scoring as he netted 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assist, and 2 steals in 34 minutes of play.
The Rams will return to action Saturday, February 9th, as the travel to St. Bonaventure. That game is set to tip at 2pm EST.
