Benney Koch, Staff Writer
VCU wasted little time putting Saturday’s loss to Memphis behind them, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor in an 87-49 blowout against NJIT on Wednesday night at the Siegel Center.
Third-year guard Blake Harper set the tone on the opening possession, tossing a lob to third-year forward Torey Alston for an early slam. From there, the Rams relentlessly attacked the rim.
VCU bullied its way to 20 points in the paint and 14-of-19 shooting at the free-throw line before halftime. Second-year guard Nyk Lewis stretched the floor by cashing in on his first three attempts from deep. Alston poured in 15 first-half points as the Rams took a commanding 43-28 lead into the locker room.
Any hopes of a Highlanders comeback evaporated immediately after the break. Fourth-year forward Lazar Djokovic threw down a dunk to open the second half, and Lewis followed with his fourth three-pointer of the night to push the margin to 20.
Much of VCU’s offense flowed through the frontcourt duo of Djokovic and Alston, who repeatedly punished NJIT around the basket and capitalized on defensive overreactions.
“We definitely worked in [those cuts],”Alston said afterward. “Lazar has always told me to cut because so many people are collapsing on Lazar. So he’s told me to just cut, and he really found me today. So it worked out.”
Defensively, the Rams tightened the screws even further after halftime. Head coach Phil Martelli Jr. challenged his group’s discipline at the break, and VCU responded by holding NJIT to just 21 second-half points.
“I was really proud of the guys, the response in the second half,” Martelli said.
With the outcome well in hand, VCU emptied its bench down the stretch. First-year guard Sammy Jackson capitalized on his extended run by burying an open three-pointer, capping a night defined by unselfish ball movement that saw the Rams dish out 21 assists to NJIT’s five.
Alston finished with a game-high 19 points on 80% shooting, while Harper led the offense with five assists.
VCU improves their record to 2-1 and gets a week off before heading west to face Santa Clara University on Nov. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2.