VCU punched its ticket to the A-10 Championship game by dismantling Saint Joseph's 77–64 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
Head coach Phil Martelli Jr., a former player and assistant at Saint Joseph's and the son of longtime Hawks head coach Phil Martelli Sr., faced his family's former program and delivered the Rams' most dominant performance of the A-10 Tournament.
VCU led for 37 minutes and 24 seconds of the contest, surrendering the lead for just 26 seconds in the opening minutes. Jadrian Tracey opened the scoring with a layup in the paint, and the Rams seized control by the 16:38 mark of the first half with a Tracey triple off a Barry Evans assist to go up 7–4.
What followed was a 21-2 VCU run that buried the Hawks — Saint Joseph's went 1-of-12 from the field during that stretch, and Ahmad Nowell capped the blitz with a three-pointer at the 1:41 mark of the first half to push the lead to 25.
The Rams carried a 44–21 advantage into the break while shooting 42% from the floor and connecting on 7-of-18 from deep.
Tracey was all love in the first half, draining three triples and scoring all 15 of his points by halftime. Tracey finished 6-of-11 from the field with 3 three-pointers across 20 minutes of action.
The Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to open the second half, cutting the deficit to 16 at 54–38 with 11:49 remaining.
Terrence Hill Jr. and Lazar Djokovic ended the threat — the two combined for all 16 VCU points between the 14:43 and 8:26 marks of the second half, including back-to-back Djokovic dunks that pushed the lead back to 21 and effectively closed the door.
Djokovic finished with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, going 3-of-4 from the free throw line, and Hill contributed a game-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
Brandon Jennings canned a three-pointer with 1:51 to play to push the margin back to 20, and Jordan Tillery punctuated the afternoon with an exclamation-point dunk with 1:08 remaining.
Saint Joseph's ended the game on an 8-0 run in garbage time, but the final margin of 13 was the closest the Hawks had been since the opening minutes.
Key Performances
Team Notes
Up Next
With the win, VCU improves to 2-0 in the A-10 Tournament and 26-7 overall. The Rams return to action on Sunday, March 15th, facing the Dayton Flyers in the A-10 Championship. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM EST and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Head coach Phil Martelli Jr., a former player and assistant at Saint Joseph's and the son of longtime Hawks head coach Phil Martelli Sr., faced his family's former program and delivered the Rams' most dominant performance of the A-10 Tournament.
VCU led for 37 minutes and 24 seconds of the contest, surrendering the lead for just 26 seconds in the opening minutes. Jadrian Tracey opened the scoring with a layup in the paint, and the Rams seized control by the 16:38 mark of the first half with a Tracey triple off a Barry Evans assist to go up 7–4.
What followed was a 21-2 VCU run that buried the Hawks — Saint Joseph's went 1-of-12 from the field during that stretch, and Ahmad Nowell capped the blitz with a three-pointer at the 1:41 mark of the first half to push the lead to 25.
The Rams carried a 44–21 advantage into the break while shooting 42% from the floor and connecting on 7-of-18 from deep.
Tracey was all love in the first half, draining three triples and scoring all 15 of his points by halftime. Tracey finished 6-of-11 from the field with 3 three-pointers across 20 minutes of action.
The Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to open the second half, cutting the deficit to 16 at 54–38 with 11:49 remaining.
Terrence Hill Jr. and Lazar Djokovic ended the threat — the two combined for all 16 VCU points between the 14:43 and 8:26 marks of the second half, including back-to-back Djokovic dunks that pushed the lead back to 21 and effectively closed the door.
Djokovic finished with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, going 3-of-4 from the free throw line, and Hill contributed a game-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
Brandon Jennings canned a three-pointer with 1:51 to play to push the margin back to 20, and Jordan Tillery punctuated the afternoon with an exclamation-point dunk with 1:08 remaining.
Saint Joseph's ended the game on an 8-0 run in garbage time, but the final margin of 13 was the closest the Hawks had been since the opening minutes.
Key Performances
- Terrence Hill Jr. — 18 pts, 2 reb (8-10 FG)
- Jadrian Tracey — 15 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast (3-7 3FG)
- Lazar Djokovic — 13 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast
- Nyk Lewis — 8 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast
- Brandon Jennings — 7 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast
- Michael Belle — 4 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast
Team Notes
- VCU led for 37:24 of 40 minutes played
- Rams built a 25-point first-half lead (44–19 at the 1:41 mark)
- Bench outscored SJU bench 31–10
- VCU shot 45.3% from the field; SJU shot 38.8%
- Rams converted 12 points off turnovers vs. SJU's 6
- VCU outscored SJU 15–7 on second-chance points
- Biggest VCU run of the game: 16-0
- Rams have won 14 of their last 15 games and 9 of the last 10 meetings vs. Saint Joseph's
- With the win, VCU advances to their third A-10 Championship game in four years; two titles in that span
Up Next
With the win, VCU improves to 2-0 in the A-10 Tournament and 26-7 overall. The Rams return to action on Sunday, March 15th, facing the Dayton Flyers in the A-10 Championship. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM EST and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
