VCU snaps Davidson’s 15-game home winning streak

Head Coach Will Wade and the VCU basketball team traveled to Davidson College on Friday night to face the former home of the reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry.

But not even Curry could have helped the Wildcats as the Rams dominated early, defeating Davidson 79-69. Junior rim protector Mo Alie-Cox was named player of the game, recording 18 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.

“Coach challenged me to come out here and get a double-double,” Alie-Cox said. “I put that in the front of my mind. I tried to get every rebound. When I got the ball in the paint, if they didn’t double me, I just went to work and finished.”

A 22 point run in the first 11 minutes of the game secured the Rams’ victory. The Rams shot 53.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc.

What made a difference was the Wildcats rusty shooting and the absence of a big man in the post, making them solely dependent on outside shooting.

Davidson was getting open and finding shots, but nothing was falling in.The Wildcats shot 8-28 in the field and made 4-16 3-point field goals.

VCU let down their guard too early in the first half, rotating players and taking contested shots with a few minutes left to play.

With three minutes left in the first half, VCU was up 38-17, but then a dry spell set in. Davidson began knocking down shots and before long, VCU was heading into the locker room only leading by 10 points, 38-28.

Senior Melvin Johnson scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half and Alie-Cox added 12 of his 18 in the period.
Davidson’s biggest threat was junior Jack Gibbs, who is among the top scorers in the NCAA. Gibbs is the consensus mid-season player of the year in the Atlantic 10.

Gibbs’ stats as a junior are comparable to Curry’s. Gibbs has connected on 45 percent of his shots from the field — so did Curry. Gibbs is shooting 36.4 percent from behind the arc while Curry shot 41.2 percent.

Gibbs started slow, but eventually found his rhythm after forcing VCU’s Doug Brooks into foul trouble, ending the evening with 37 points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Wildcats came out of the locker room ready to go to war with the Rams. Davidon improved their shooting from the field to 53.3 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from behind the arc.

The Rams battled back shooting 46.7 percent from around the paint but only made 2-7 shots from behind the arc.

With ten minutes left in regulation, things started to look dicey for the Rams when VCU’s lead fell into single digits.

A 3-pointer by Gibbs cut VCU’s lead to two, but junior point guard JeQuan Lewis quickly answered with a fast break layup down the court.

After Lewis’ two-points, the Rams gained momentum and secured a 10 point victory, that can be accredited to how the Rams played in the first half. Davidson and VCU both finished the second half with 41 points.

Lewis finished the evening with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“We’re not going to back down from a fight,” Lewis said. “Once they got it down to two, we said, ‘All right, it’s time to buckle down.’ We just stuck together.”

Davidson was on a tear prior to the loss to VCU. Head Coach Bob McKillop’s team was averaging just 9.7 turnovers per game (16 on Friday) and was winners of 30 of their last 31 contests played at Belk Arena.

The Rams are 8-0 in league play for the first time since they opened 11-0 in the CAA in 2006-07. VCU finished 16-2 in the CAA that season and captured the league’s regular season and tournament crowns before upsetting Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Rams will look for their 12th straight win on Feb. 3, when they travel to take on La Salle University.

Staff Writer, Sophia Belletti

Sophia is a sophomore print/online journalism major with a minor in gender, sexuality and women’s studies. She enjoys writing about current events and sports and hopes to one day be a sports reporter, covering soccer, basketball and baseball. You can usually find Sophia drinking way too much coffee and laughing at her own jokes. // Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

bellettisr@commonwealthtimes.org