Saturday night at the Siegel Center marked the unofficial/official return of VCU Hoops. The Rams took on Virginia State in an Exhibition game that brought out that Animal that wreaked HAVOC against the Trojans.

Tempo. A Lot.

Mike’l Simms went off to the races winning the VSU tip-off on a breakaway to the basket for the opening bucket. The Rams used muscle and finesse on offense to go up 9-5 before the first media timeout.

VCU kept the tempo high with an emphasis on establishing the paint game. Corey Douglas feasted on the Trojans repeatedly at the rim as Bones and Simms continued feeding Douglas the ball. That basketball kept falling for the Black & Gold on an 11-0 scoring run capped by KeShawn Curry putting VCU up 20-9 from the three-point spot.

HAVOC. It’s Everywhere.

Marcus Evans took over the first half denying Virginia State on a turnover breakaway denying the Trojans on the 2v1 down the court. On the following VCU sequence, Evans found his way to the basket for an And-1 basket through contact that raised the noise levels of the Stu.

Inside the paint was VCU’s second home scoring 16 points and collecting 29 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Reserves were a key factor for VCU holding a 21-5 scoring advantage off the bench.

“When I hit the first one it felt great. The other just kept falling in.”

–KeShawn Curry, VCU Sophomore Guard

The spotlight shined upon KeShawn Curry off the VCU bench in the first half. Curry stuck gold beyond the arc going a perfect 3-of-3 and a team-high 11 points. VCU shutdown Virginia State offensively as the Trojans finished the half at 18% from the field (5-of-28) and trailing 38-19.

Building In Progress

Virginia State hit an offensive strive in the 2^nd half with back to back And-1s. Andrew Corum and Antwan Miles got the best of VCU but missed from the free-throw line. As the Rams worked on getting the defense back in sync, Issac Vann ignited the offense with a triple to bring the lead to 20 points.

That deficit would reach 30 points once VCU got offensive help from Douglas and Marcus Santos-Silva at the rim. The paint continued to be a scoring frenzy for VCU and once again the Rams kicked the ball out for uncontested three-pointers.

Coach Rhoades put emphasis on VCU’s rebounding in preparation and the Rams collected a 47-34 rebounding edge over VSU. VCU scored 32 of their 90 total points near the basket. Every Ram on the roster registered a point or more on the stat sheet against the Trojans.

“We’ve beaten each other up for months during the off-season. It’s great to be back in the spotlight beating someone else for once.”

–Corey Douglas, VCU Redshirt Junior Forward

VCU cruised to a 90-53 victory in their home exhibition against Virginia State. The Rams led the series all-time at 7-0 and are 3-0 against the Trojans in exhibition games. The 2019-20 season officially begins on Tuesday, November 5^th versus Saint Francis (PA) in the home opener at the Siegel Center.

Mark Turner

Mark graduated from VCU in 2014 with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. He started as a fan of the Black & Gold in the stands his freshman year. Mark was known as "Kazie" for his charismatic fandom with the VCU's student organization the Rowdy Rams. While at VCU he gained experience in sports media with WVCW on a sports radio show called Rowdy Radio. Following graduation, Mark continued crafting his social media skills with the Richmond Kickers while also handling VCU coverage. He is a true fan of the Rams and vocally passionate on and off camera. After the final whistle, you can probably find him at local RVA bar or brewery enjoying a drink and conversation.