VCU men’s basketball fall to Richmond as 3-point shooting woes continue
Sophomore forward Vince Williams logged 7 points in his first career start. Photo by Megan Lee
Noah Fleischman, Sports Editor
The Spiders started hot from three and finished hot from deep as Richmond knocked off men’s basketball 75-59 Saturday afternoon at the Robins Center.
Richmond’s Nick Sherod was caught the hot hand from beyond the arc early, knocking down his first four 3-pointers, putting the Spiders up 13.
“We wasn’t heating up the ball and guarding our yard,” said junior forward Marcus Santos-Silva. “Once Sherod saw a couple go in after that they all started feeling it.”
The same couldn’t be said for the Rams, starting 0-for-4 from three. In the first half, the Rams only knocked down one 3-pointer when redshirt-junior forward Issac Vann hit one from the top of the key.
The Rams shot 19% from deep on the afternoon, only knocking down four threes.
Santos-Silva led the Rams with his eighth double-double of the season, logging 14 points and 12 rebounds.
VCU went on an 8-0 run midway through the first half, pulling the black and gold within 8 of the Spiders.
Then the tide turned; Richmond went on a 9-0 run of its own, pushing the lead to 18. The Rams didn’t score for the final five minutes of the first half, missing their last eight shots.
“We fought and we got some momentum as the game went on, but not enough,” coach Mike Rhoades said. “We just didn’t get enough stops.”
The black and gold shot a 32% clip from the field in the first 20 minutes, and Richmond shot 54% from the field. The Rams turned the ball over nine times in the period.
Richmond out-rebounded the Rams 22-12 in the first half, but the Rams answered by out-rebounding the Spiders 27-18 in the final 20 minutes.
“Hit somebody and go get it,” Rhoades said of the rebounding adjustment at the half. “Don’t stand there and think Marcus Santos-Silva’s going to get everyone. Got to go get it … we have some long athletic guys, but we stand there and watch.”
VCU opened the second half, forcing back-to-back Richmond turnovers, converting both into points, including a freshman guard Bones Hyland 3-pointer.
Richmond went on mini runs of 5 and 6 points at a time throughout the second half, negating any progress the Rams made in the final 20 minutes.
Freshman forward Jarren McAllister was a spark plug off the bench for the Rams, scoring 7 points in 12 minutes of play. He logged a 5-0 run on his own, knocking down a 3-pointer and a layup after grabbing the offensive rebound.
“I think they [the freshmen] played really hard. I think they played aggressively,” Rhoades said. “Jarren McAllister usually outworks the guy guarding him, he plays harder.”
The Rams made a push late in the half, going on a 9-0 run over two minutes to pull within 13 points. Sophomore forward Vince Williams scored four of the points during the run.
The Rams host Dayton on Tuesday night at the Siegel Center at 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
