Just one game after bouncing back and handing GW a loss on this same court, VCU (18-12; 8-9 A10) struggled to put away the Dukes before eventually falling in overtime, 80-77.
Before the nights game the Rams honored their graduating Seniors, Marcus Evans (DNP), De’Riante Jenkins (DNP), Mike’L Simms, Malik Crowfield, and Issac Vann.
Simms scored 10 points, while Vann netted 13 points.
Marcus Santos-Silva scored a game-high 24 points while also grabbing a team-high 8 rebounds.
Freshman, Bones Hyland, was the only other Ram in double-digit scoring with 13 points.
With their bench depleted, the Rams struggled down the stretch this season to ever get any rhythm going. The Rams were without Evans, Jenkins, Corey Douglas, and Vince Williams—these four make up 28.3 points-per-game.
Duquesne’s bench outscored the Rams bench, 33-17.
The Dukes also won the battle-of-the-boards, 40-29.
The Rams ended the game shooting 51% on 30-59 shooting with 48 of their points coming in the paint.
VCU led by as many as 12 points in tonights matchup, but a 12-2 Dukes run got them within 2 points of the Rams.
A layup by Lamar Norman, Jr with 5 seconds left on the clock in regulation tied the game.
The Rams were eventually outscored 10-7 in the extra five minutes of game time.
VCU will return to action Friday, March 6th, as they head to Davidson to take on the Wildcats in the final regular season game of the year. That match is set to tip-off at 9:00pm EST.
