Rams win on senior night

Coming off a loss to Bradley last Saturday, VCU needed to come back with a win. With one more home game remaining, it was the last chance to win in the Stuart C. Siegel Center. It wasn’t easy, but Jesse Pellot-Rosa (Richmond, Va./George Wythe) scored 19 points, and B.A. Walker (Onancock, Va./Nandua) added 16 as the Rams knocked off the James Madison Dukes 83-72 on senior night.

The Score
VCU 83
JMU 72

The opening seven minutes of the game were dominated by the Rams. The four starting seniors, Walker, Pellot-Rosa, Matt Coward (Richmond, Va./Hermitage), and Calvin Roland (Hephzibah, Ga./Hephzibah) combined for 19 points as VCU raced out to a 21-7 lead. After that, the game got shaky.

JMU was able to close the lead to nine at halftime, and got as close as one with 12:05 remaining in the game.

Jamal Shuler (Jacksonville, N.C./Jacksonville), a junior, however, provided the spark that opened the lead for VCU. After a JMU basket cut the Rams’ lead to 53-49, Shuler raced up the floor and attacked the basket expecting to hit a lay-up. He was corralled instead around the neck by JMU center Gabriel Chami, who was called for an intentional foul.

By the numbers>

JMU (4-13 CAA, 7-21): James 13, Carter 21, Swanston 14, Curtis 12, Santos 1, Posey 8, Hilton 0, Chami 3, Bray 0. Totals: 24 17-23 72. 3-pointers: Swanston 3, Posey 2, James, Carter.

VCU (15-2, 23-6): Anderson 7, Pellot-Rosa 19, Roland 3, Coward 2, Walker 16, Fameni 11, Maynor 13, Shuler 8, Gwynn 4. Totals: 27 19-26 83. 3-pointers: Walker 4, Pellot-Rosa 3, Shuler 2, Maynor.

Shuler calmly sank both free throws, then hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing offensive possession to boost VCU’s lead to 58-49 with just over 10 minutes to play. The Dukes would get no closer than seven for the rest of the contest. Shuler finished with eight points.

The VCU win proved to be more than the 23rd of the season. The victory gives the Rams 15 in the conference, a school record.

The game was an appropriate send-off for a senior class that provides much of the team’s offensive fire power. The senior class provided 40 of the 83 points.

The Rams finish the regular season Saturday afternoon at Georgia State. A win over the Panthers will clinch the regular-season championship and the No.1 seed in the CAA conference tournament.