It was all Marcus Santos-Silva today in Fairfax as the big man led VCU (12-3, 2-0) to its second straight conference victory.
VCU pounded the ball inside to Santos-Silva all afternoon as he shot 10-14 from the floor, and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line, en route to game-high totals for both points and rebounds.
His 26 points, 12 rebounds performance notched him his 5th double-double of the season—11th of his career. He also tied a career-high scoring output.
VCU starting the game by jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead, but following a GMU timeout, the Patriots chipped back into the game before tying it up at 10. It was the game's only tie and the closest GMU would get to VCU again for the remainder of the afternoon.
Back-to-back three pointers by Mike'L Simms and De'Riante Jenkins, followed by a Santos-Silva layup, provided the Rams a late first half burst in the form of an 8-0 run.
Jenkins and Simms were the only other Rams in double-digit scoring on the afternoon with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Santos-Silva and Jenkins combined for 24 of the Rams 39 points in the second half.
Jenkins and Freshman, Bones Hyland (5pts), ended the day with six rebounds each.
The game today marked the first official start of Hyland's young career as senior point guard, Marcus Evans, did not start as a result of a coaches decision.
Evans led the team with 6 assists to go along with his 6 points in only 21 minutes of action.
Santos-Silva didn't let up in the second half—at one points scoring 8 straight points
VCU out-rebounded the Patriots 40-25 and scored 16 points off 13 GMU turnovers.
Overall the Rams shot 45% (24-53) from the floor, 35% from three (6-17) and a perfect 18-18 from the free throw line.
The 18 free throws made by VCU also set a school record for most makes without a miss (minimum of 15 attempts).
The win also marked the 1000th win in program history for the Rams.
VCU will return to action Saturday, January 11th, as the Rams welcome the Rhode Island Rams to Richmond. That game is set to tip at 2:00PM EST and will be broadcast on CBSSN.
VCU pounded the ball inside to Santos-Silva all afternoon as he shot 10-14 from the floor, and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line, en route to game-high totals for both points and rebounds.
His 26 points, 12 rebounds performance notched him his 5th double-double of the season—11th of his career. He also tied a career-high scoring output.
VCU starting the game by jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead, but following a GMU timeout, the Patriots chipped back into the game before tying it up at 10. It was the game's only tie and the closest GMU would get to VCU again for the remainder of the afternoon.
Back-to-back three pointers by Mike'L Simms and De'Riante Jenkins, followed by a Santos-Silva layup, provided the Rams a late first half burst in the form of an 8-0 run.
Jenkins and Simms were the only other Rams in double-digit scoring on the afternoon with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Santos-Silva and Jenkins combined for 24 of the Rams 39 points in the second half.
Jenkins and Freshman, Bones Hyland (5pts), ended the day with six rebounds each.
The game today marked the first official start of Hyland's young career as senior point guard, Marcus Evans, did not start as a result of a coaches decision.
Evans led the team with 6 assists to go along with his 6 points in only 21 minutes of action.
Santos-Silva didn't let up in the second half—at one points scoring 8 straight points
VCU out-rebounded the Patriots 40-25 and scored 16 points off 13 GMU turnovers.
Overall the Rams shot 45% (24-53) from the floor, 35% from three (6-17) and a perfect 18-18 from the free throw line.
The 18 free throws made by VCU also set a school record for most makes without a miss (minimum of 15 attempts).
The win also marked the 1000th win in program history for the Rams.
VCU will return to action Saturday, January 11th, as the Rams welcome the Rhode Island Rams to Richmond. That game is set to tip at 2:00PM EST and will be broadcast on CBSSN.
