Black Friday beatdown: Rams pillage the Vikings, 103-58
VCU first-year guard Brandon Jennings dribbles past Elizabeth City State University defender. Photo by Jason Gallardo Gonzalez.
Andrew Thompson, Contributing Writer
Ethan York, Contributing Writer
VCU handled business against Elizabeth City State University, winning 103-58, on a landmark night on Nov. 29.
The game also included the retirement of a VCU men’s basketball legend’s jersey and VCU head coach Ryan Odom getting his 200th career win.
Before the start of the game, VCU honored former VCU point guard Joey Rodriguez by retiring his No. 12 jersey.
Rodriguez played a crucial role in the Rams’ 2011 final four run and played a total of 174 games throughout his four years, according to ESPN.
“He’s such a humble guy,” Odom said. “No matter what he says, he’s well deserving of that honor. And I think we can all attest to that.”
VCU won the tip-off and immediately sank a three, courtesy of VCU graduate student guard Phillip Russell.
The first three minutes were all VCU as the Rams went on a quick 9-0 run to open up the game, with eight of the points coming from Russell.
The Rams’ aggressive play on both offense and defense saw them shoot out to a 13-1 lead which caused the Vikings to call a timeout in an attempt to regroup five minutes into the game.
The Vikings were unable to score a field goal for the first seven minutes as the Rams continued to hound them on defense, according to StatBroadcast.
VCU graduate student forward Jack Clark and first-year forward Luke Bamgboye linked up for a highlight alley-oop at the six-minute mark to extend the lead to 21.
The Rams went into halftime with a sizable lead of 49-26. VCU shot 55% from the field while holding ECSU to 28%, according to StatBroadcast.
Russell exerted his dominance offensively leading the Rams in scoring with 15 points, nine of which came from behind the three-point line. Clark led the team in rebounds with six and in assists with two.
The second half started off with the Vikings in possession, and the drive ended with no points scored against the Rams.
After multiple possessions, the Rams managed to get the first points of the half from third-year forward Christian Fermin, according to StatBroadcast.
The Vikings delivered a level two flagrant foul to the Rams at 17-minute mark, which resulted in fourth-year forward Michael Eads Jr. being ejected from the game.
The flagrant foul was committed against graduate student guard Max Shulga, with graduate student guard Joe Bamisile taking the free throws. Shulga did not return for the rest of the game.
VCU second-year guard Michael Belle had a block against the Vikings offense, resulting in a fastbreak layup.
Bamisile received a technical foul following a steal and fastbreak dunk around the 12-minute mark.
Halfway through the second half, VCU had scored 31 points in the half, according to StatBroadcast.
Both teams showed aggressive defense with the Rams having tallied up six team fouls and the Vikings having nine at the seven-minute mark, according to StatBroadcast.
As the game winded down, first-year guard Terrence Hill Jr. scored a transition dunk to put VCU into triple digits for the second time this season.
“It was lit to be honest, all the seniors didn’t think I could dunk,” Hill said.
VCU’s play on both sides of the ball contributed heavily to the dominance, as they made 50% of their shots on the night while holding ECSU to only making 31% of theirs, according to StatBroadcast. The bench especially played an important role contributing 51 points to the triple digit total.
At the final buzzer, the black and gold won in dominant fashion.
Wins like this play an important part in making the A-10 in a multi-bid league, according to Odom.
“It’s not just about VCU,” Odom said. “It’s about the overall league, and strength of the overall league.”
VCU men’s basketball will play its next game at the Siegel Center against Georgia Southern University on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
