Bones Hyland hit the biggest shot of his night with just 3.9 seconds left in the game.
The sophomore guard, who had a game-high 24 points on 8-17 shooting, knocked down the last of his 5 made threes to secure the 63-62 road win for VCU (13-4; 6-2 A10).
URI, who shot 5-8 for the game from the charity stripe, missed two crucial free throws down the stretch to potentially put VCU away.
DJ Johnson missed the front end of a One and One with only 26 seconds remaining. That would have given Rhode Island a three point advantage.
Instead, VCU brought the ball up court and found Jamir Watkins for an open look from three that rattled out around the 8 second mark.
But, not giving up on the play, freshman point guard tipped the offensive rebound out to Hyland.
Hyland took one step in and around the oncoming defender and knocked down the triple that would take the lead for VCU.
But, as URI brought the ball up court, Vince Williams was called for the personal foul after inadvertently getting tangled up with Ishmael Leggett.
With 1.9 seconds left to play Leggett stepped to the free throw line where he missed the front end of the One and One. VCU's Hason Ward grabbed the rebound and VCU walked away with a tough road win.
URI played tonights matchup without the efforts of team leader, Fatts Russell.
The game saw 10 lead changes and 5 ties in 40 minutes of play.
Hyland finished the game with a team-high 24 points to go with his 4 rebound, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
VCU's struggles with turnovers continue as they had 14 on the night that resulted in 11 point for URI.
The visiting Rams did however turn 16 URI turnovers into 17 points on the night.
Levi Stockard III was the only other VCU Ram in double digit scoring as he netted 15 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor.
VCU will return to action Sunday, February 7th, as they head to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne. That game is set to tip at 4pm EST and will be broadcast on NBCSN.
The sophomore guard, who had a game-high 24 points on 8-17 shooting, knocked down the last of his 5 made threes to secure the 63-62 road win for VCU (13-4; 6-2 A10).
URI, who shot 5-8 for the game from the charity stripe, missed two crucial free throws down the stretch to potentially put VCU away.
DJ Johnson missed the front end of a One and One with only 26 seconds remaining. That would have given Rhode Island a three point advantage.
Instead, VCU brought the ball up court and found Jamir Watkins for an open look from three that rattled out around the 8 second mark.
But, not giving up on the play, freshman point guard tipped the offensive rebound out to Hyland.
Hyland took one step in and around the oncoming defender and knocked down the triple that would take the lead for VCU.
But, as URI brought the ball up court, Vince Williams was called for the personal foul after inadvertently getting tangled up with Ishmael Leggett.
With 1.9 seconds left to play Leggett stepped to the free throw line where he missed the front end of the One and One. VCU's Hason Ward grabbed the rebound and VCU walked away with a tough road win.
URI played tonights matchup without the efforts of team leader, Fatts Russell.
The game saw 10 lead changes and 5 ties in 40 minutes of play.
Hyland finished the game with a team-high 24 points to go with his 4 rebound, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
VCU's struggles with turnovers continue as they had 14 on the night that resulted in 11 point for URI.
The visiting Rams did however turn 16 URI turnovers into 17 points on the night.
Levi Stockard III was the only other VCU Ram in double digit scoring as he netted 15 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor.
VCU will return to action Sunday, February 7th, as they head to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne. That game is set to tip at 4pm EST and will be broadcast on NBCSN.
