RICHMOND, Va. – For a while, it looked like the five-game winning streak that the Virginia Commonwealth University men's basketball program had over its cross-town rival the University of Richmond would come to an end.

Then the second half happened.

The Rams (6-2) exploded for 45 second-half points, after scoring just 20 in the first half, en route to another victory in the Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic, 65-57, over the Spiders (7-2).

"That was a great college basketball game," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "It was really a tale of two halves. I thought our guys really became aggressive and were able to institute our game plan coming out of halftime."

Senior T.J. Gwynn (Burlington, N.C.) (right) led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while junior Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla.) chipped in his fourth straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while also blocking five shots on the evening.

It wasn't always good as guards David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson combined for 22 first-half points and controlled the pace of play to help the Spiders hold a 27-15 lead with 3:27 left before halftime.

Gwynn would set the tone for the second half with five quick points to give the Black & Gold momentum heading into the break.

The lead would dwindle to five within two minutes before sophomore Terrance Saintil (North Miami, Fla.) (left), who was making his first appearance of the year after having thumb surgery in the preseason, came in the game to ignite a 13-2 run. A nice dish by Saintil to classmate Bradford Burgess (Midlothian, Va.) for a slam, capped off the spurt and gave VCU a 39-33 advantage.

Richmond would not go away thanks to Anderson and Gonzalvez as the two teams traded leads back and forth before junior Brandon Rozzell (Richmond, Va.) (right) connected on two huge three-pointers to put the game away.

The victory is VCU's sixth straight over the Spiders and eight of nine since Richmond left the Colonial Athletic Association after the 2000-01 campaign.

Saintil finished with a career-high seven points on a perfect 2-of-2 from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. Rozzell added nine points in his first start of the season, while junior Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla.) added seven points and five assists in the win.

Gonzalvez led Richmond with 19 points, while Anderson finished with 18 and three assists. Dan Geriot was the third Spider in double-figures with 11 points.

The Rams are back in action next Saturday when they travel to New Orleans, La., to take on former Metro Conference foe Tulane. Tip is set for 2 p.m. EST.