It took a full forty minutes—and some stout last second defense—but the Rams (16-8; 8-3) fought off the Flyers as they took down #18 Dayton, 49-47, on Friday night.
Dayton opened the scoring for evening hitting a three pointer, but a free throw from Christian Fermin and then a three pointer from Jason Nelson gave the Rams the lead 15:06 left in the first half.
The Rams wouldn't relinquish that lead for the remainder of the game.
Nelson led VCU in scoring—and was the only Ram in double digits—with 11 points that came on the back of three triples. He shot 75% from long range on the evening and made 3 of the 5 shots from range for the Rams.
Despite being held scoreless over the final six minutes, VCU was able to lock down on defense and held Dayton without a point over the final three minutes.
As the close score alludes, both teams played almost an identical game.
Dayton was held to just 36% shooting from the field, while the Rams came away slightly better at 38%.
Both teams connected on 24% of the three pointers, and just 50% of the free throws.
Dayton and VCU both had 8 turnovers on the night, but the Rams 6 steals came out just ahead of the Flyers 5 steals.
The home team came out ahead on the glass where the Rams grabbed 37 boards to the Flyers 32.
VCU had an assist on 13 of their 20 made baskets with Max Shulga leading the charge as he dished out 5 in 30 minutes of play time.
The biggest statistical difference came from bench scoring as VCU outperformed Dayton with 23-8 advantage.
The Rams have now won 8 of their last 9 contests—included the last 3 straight.
VCU returns to action on Friday, Feb. 16th as they head to Saint Louis to take on the Billikens. That game is set to tip at 7pm and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Dayton opened the scoring for evening hitting a three pointer, but a free throw from Christian Fermin and then a three pointer from Jason Nelson gave the Rams the lead 15:06 left in the first half.
The Rams wouldn't relinquish that lead for the remainder of the game.
Nelson led VCU in scoring—and was the only Ram in double digits—with 11 points that came on the back of three triples. He shot 75% from long range on the evening and made 3 of the 5 shots from range for the Rams.
Despite being held scoreless over the final six minutes, VCU was able to lock down on defense and held Dayton without a point over the final three minutes.
As the close score alludes, both teams played almost an identical game.
Dayton was held to just 36% shooting from the field, while the Rams came away slightly better at 38%.
Both teams connected on 24% of the three pointers, and just 50% of the free throws.
Dayton and VCU both had 8 turnovers on the night, but the Rams 6 steals came out just ahead of the Flyers 5 steals.
The home team came out ahead on the glass where the Rams grabbed 37 boards to the Flyers 32.
VCU had an assist on 13 of their 20 made baskets with Max Shulga leading the charge as he dished out 5 in 30 minutes of play time.
The biggest statistical difference came from bench scoring as VCU outperformed Dayton with 23-8 advantage.
The Rams have now won 8 of their last 9 contests—included the last 3 straight.
VCU returns to action on Friday, Feb. 16th as they head to Saint Louis to take on the Billikens. That game is set to tip at 7pm and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
