When the lights turned on inside the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Saturday night, the Peppas were back in full force and the biggest crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic watched this season's men's basketball team for the first time in the annual Black and Gold scrimmage.
 
This season's intrasquad scrimmage featured a new wrinkle, switching the teams up as the game went on, something Head Coach Mike Rhoades hasn't done before. But with a short-handed roster, it allowed for players to play with various lineups.
 
"When I watch the tape, I want to see certain lineups together," Rhoades said. "I want to see how they play together and I want to see certain two-man match-ups."
 
In the scrimmage, the teams were divided by the coaching staff for two four-minute periods. After the two periods, the teams were reset with new combinations on the court. In total, the teams played six 4-minute periods with three different lineup combinations.
 
Here are three observations from the scrimmage:
 
POINT GUARDS
After losing sophomore guard Ace Baldwin until early January to a torn Achilles tendon, the spotlight turned to freshman guard Jayden Nunn and junior guard Marcus Tsohonis to replace him in the lineup in the meantime.
 
In the scrimmage, the two carried most of the workload at point guard for each team, until they played together in the final rotation.
 
Nunn looked to pass and set up teammates during most of the scrimmage, logging nine points with three assists. He did show his offensive ability in the game, knocking down a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the end of the second period.
 
Rhoades said Nunn has "the VCU point guard qualities, for sure."
 
"He can guard the ball, he can make plays, you see him get into the lane and all that stuff," Rhoades said. "He's just got to continue to make the game easier and be a student of the game, which he has been up until now."
 
Tsohonis, who's been battling a groin injury this week, recorded five points and an assist in the scrimmage. The Washington transfer averaged 10.4 points a game for the Huskies last season and flashes of that were shown in his first appearance inside the Siegel Center.
 
Nunn and Tsohonis may play alongside each other during the season in the back court, Rhoades said.
 
"He can really shoot the ball and score the basketball," Rhoades said of Tsohonis. "Getting him off the ball at times, getting into the flow of things, can definitely help."
 
SENIORS MAKE A SPLASH
Even though the Rams have five newcomers to the roster this season, the team's two most-tenured players, senior forward Vince Williams and senior guard KeShawn Curry, made their presence known during the scrimmage.
 
Williams found his stroke beyond the arc, shooting 3-of-6 from three on the night to finish with 15 points.
 
"We need him to score, right? We need him to shoot the ball and we need him to shoot threes when he's open," Rhoades said. "You saw tonight, when he shoots the ball and gets his feet set, it's a good-looking shot and we need a lot more of it."
 
Williams played primarily on the wing for most of his time on the floor, but he became the primary ball handler in the final two periods when Nunn and Tsohonis played on the same team.
 
"[He] just gives you another steady senior ball handler out there and he's not always going to be the primary ball handler, but at times he can do that," Rhoades said. "We're going to definitely use him."
 
Curry returned to the court and brought his infectious energy with him, slamming home a couple dunks. That wasn't what stood out to the coaching staff, it was his unselfishness that did.
 
"What I'm most impressed this year so far is he's really taken to 'Hey, this is what's going to help the team,'" Rhoades said of Curry. "He made some really great plays driving in there and kicking it out, getting guys shots, keeping the ball moving."
 
Curry recorded a game-high 16 points in an efficient 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
 
DEFENSE
Splitting a defensive-minded team is bound for a defensive battle and that's what fans saw during the scrimmage.
 
The teams combined for 19 steals and four blocks at the end of the night, as sophomore guard Josh Banks and Curry led the way with three apiece.
 
For a team full of new faces, Rhoades was pleased with the press he saw.
 
"For the first time out with a bunch of new guys, I thought we pressed pretty well," Rhoades said.
 
Though the teams found ways to create turnovers, Rhoades said he wants to clean up the halfcourt defense before playing an opponent.
 
"I didn't think our halfcourt defense was as good as it can be because we're trying to make home run plays," Rhoades said, "We'll fix that on Monday."