The black and gold welcomed Loyola Chicago to the Siegel Center for the first time as A-10 foes, then after 40 minutes, sent them back to Chicago with a 74-67 loss.
The teams came out gunning early, with the Rams taking a 24-20 lead less than 10 minutes in. Ryan Odom's squad struggled to get stops the the rest of the first half, seeing the Ramblers get points inside the three-point arc with ease to the tune of a 60.9% clip and grabbing the lead back from VCU, entering the half up three points only after a Joe Bamisile last-second three cut a six-point Ramblers deficit.
The teams then traded leads for roughly the first 12 minutes of the second half before VCU went on a 7-0 run to take a 61-54 lead. The black and gold would later extend that lead to 12 thanks to a Kuany Kuany four-point play and-1 with the Rams threatening to blow Ramblers out despite the early struggles. To their credit, the visiting Ramblers would continue to fight, trimming VCU's lead to four with 1:26 left to play. From there on however, VCU would make the clutch free throws needed to ice the victory, heading off the court with the win and extending their current winning streak to four consecutive games.
Joe Bamisile once again played a monster part in the victory after posting 29 in the Rams recent win over SLU. The Chesterfield native led all players with 25 points and was 5-8 from three. He added six rebounds in the win.
Bamisile's red-hot three-point night was basically matched by Cal transfer, Kuany Kuany, who went a perfect 3-3 from deep and scored 16 points for the Rams. Sean Bairstow was the only other Ram in double-digits, scoring 12 points to go along with a team-high six assists.
VCU shot 60% from three on the night and outrebounded the Ramblers 27-22 in the win.
The win moves VCU To 12-7 on the season and 4-2 in A-10 play, good enough for fourth place at the moment heading into a road contest at Davidson this Saturday at 8PM. That game will air on CBS Sports.
The teams came out gunning early, with the Rams taking a 24-20 lead less than 10 minutes in. Ryan Odom's squad struggled to get stops the the rest of the first half, seeing the Ramblers get points inside the three-point arc with ease to the tune of a 60.9% clip and grabbing the lead back from VCU, entering the half up three points only after a Joe Bamisile last-second three cut a six-point Ramblers deficit.
The teams then traded leads for roughly the first 12 minutes of the second half before VCU went on a 7-0 run to take a 61-54 lead. The black and gold would later extend that lead to 12 thanks to a Kuany Kuany four-point play and-1 with the Rams threatening to blow Ramblers out despite the early struggles. To their credit, the visiting Ramblers would continue to fight, trimming VCU's lead to four with 1:26 left to play. From there on however, VCU would make the clutch free throws needed to ice the victory, heading off the court with the win and extending their current winning streak to four consecutive games.
Joe Bamisile once again played a monster part in the victory after posting 29 in the Rams recent win over SLU. The Chesterfield native led all players with 25 points and was 5-8 from three. He added six rebounds in the win.
Bamisile's red-hot three-point night was basically matched by Cal transfer, Kuany Kuany, who went a perfect 3-3 from deep and scored 16 points for the Rams. Sean Bairstow was the only other Ram in double-digits, scoring 12 points to go along with a team-high six assists.
VCU shot 60% from three on the night and outrebounded the Ramblers 27-22 in the win.
The win moves VCU To 12-7 on the season and 4-2 in A-10 play, good enough for fourth place at the moment heading into a road contest at Davidson this Saturday at 8PM. That game will air on CBS Sports.
