VCU Men’s Basketball aimed to keep their 8 game winning streak alive at the Siegel Center versus Saint Louis Wednesday evening. The Rams rattled the Billikens and displayed a good overall team performance for their 9th consecutive Atlantic 10 victory.
Buckets For Everybody!
There was a scoring fest between VCU and Saint Louis after tip-off. The lead continuously went back and forth as Rams and Billikens scored buckets in bunches. Both teams came out hitting at a high rate as both teams headed into the first media timeout tied at 10-10.
More of the same was in store as the 1st half continued. Both teams kept trading bucket after bucket with no clear advantage. JeQuan Lewis made the highlight reel with a big block that led to Jonathan Williams putting some extra glaze on a breakaway layup. VCU had momentum within their grasp as the Rams kept attacking the rim.
Back & Forth Kind Of 1st Half
Saint Louis stayed within striking distance; Jalen Johnson kept the Billikens floating above water offensively with 12 first half points. VCU’s offense started to get cold for nearly 2 minutes while SLU continued scoring and got out to a 23-17 lead. SLU’s field goal percentage got as high as 68% from the field in the 1st half.
The Rams mustered up an answer thanks to Samir Doughty driving into the open lane for the layup. Following that was an alley-oop from Williams to Mo Alie-Cox to tied it up at 23-23; Siegel Center along with Williams was amped up after that great play by Glaze and Mo.
Extra Glaze From HAVOC
HAVOC started to unravel the Billikens late in the 1st half. VCU forced 7 Saint Louis turnovers and turned them into 7 points for the Black & Gold. Doug Brooks made the most off of a steal turned breakaway layup to increase VCU’s lead.
Jonathan Williams made his presence felt with 12 points in the first half. The junior guard had a good 16 minutes of gameplay and put the exclamation point on the half with a buzzer-beating layup. While SLU’s offense got stuck for the last 2:13 without a point, VCU ended the half on a 9-0 scoring run and led 41-30.
Black & Gold Takeover
VCU took full control of the 2nd half from the opening whistle. Justin Tillman recovered well defensively with a block on a gifted breakaway to the basket for the Billikens. That was followed up by Doughty connecting near the basket on an And-1 layup. For the first 4:00 minutes of the 2nd half, Saint Louis was held without a field goal.
Coach Wade emphasized that VCU needed to continue to attack the basket. That message was heard loud and clear as JeQuan Lewis along with Tillman and Williams charged to the rim repeatedly. Saint Louis started to get into some foul trouble as VCU kept playing their style of basketball against the Billikens.
Cruising To Number 9
As the game continued, VCU kept cruising. Ahmed Hamdy got the Stu out of their seats by getting a VCU steal and running from half-court to the rim for a one-handed throw down. The duo of Williams & Tillman could not be stopped by Saint Louis as VCU outran the visitors on the court and scoreboard.
The paint was engulfed in Black & Gold as VCU were able to establish their presence throughout the night. VCU outscored Saint Louis 38-28 from inside the box and won the rebound battle 41-32. HAVOC forced 16 total SLU turnovers while VCU committed 11.
Jonathan Williams led VCU on the night with 17 points. Justin Tillman collected another double-double with a performance of 14 points and 10 rebounds; Samie Doughty was the third Ram to hit double digits with 13 points.
VCU improved to 13-2 in Atlantic 10 play and have won 9 straight conference games. The Rams are 23-5 overall. Saint Louis falls to 4-11 in A-10 Play and has lost 6 consecutive contests to the Black & Gold.
VCU Men’s Basketball starts a two-game road trip in A-10 Play starting on Saturday, February 25th. It’s a Battle of the Rams at Rhode Island with a 2 PM tip-off on ESPN 2.
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