Score: St. Bonaventure 67, VCU 62
Location: St. Bonaventure, N.Y. (Reilly Center)
Records: VCU 13-8 (5-3 Atlantic 10), St. Bonaventure 13-7 (4-4)
 
The short story: Senior guard Max Shulga poured in a season-high 25 points, but it wasn't enough to hold off a dramatic second-half comeback by St. Bonaventure Tuesday night at the Reilly Center.
 
OPENING TIP

• Shulga buried all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half and finished 6-of-9 from beyond the arc for the Rams. He was 8-of-12 from the field overall and added four rebounds and three assists
• In all, four Rams scored in double figures, including senior guard Joe Bamisile, who added 13 points and five rebounds
• Senior guard Zeb Jackson and graduate forward Kuany Kuany added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Black and Gold
• Daryl Banks III led four Bonnies in double figures with 15 points 

THE DIFFERENCE

• Charles Pride hit a pair of go-ahead free throws for Bona with 1:15 remaining that made it 63-62. VCU's next two possessions produced a missed 3-point attempt and a turnover, and Mika Adams-Woods extended Bona's advantage to 65-62 on a pair of free throws with 18.1 left. The Rams got a pair of looks from 3-point range on their final possession, but were unable to get either to fall
• It was a tale of two halves for the Rams, who shot 54 percent (14-of-26) from the floor in the first half, including 10-of-15 from three, but connected on just 26 percent (7-of-27) from the field in the second. VCU missed 13 of 14 three-point attempts in the second half
• The Rams led by as many as 20 points, at 39-19, on a Bamisile 3-pointer with 2:51 to go in the first half. VCU headed into the locker room with a 39-26 advantage
• The offensive glass fueled Bona's comeback. The Bonnies corralled 11 offensive boards in the second half alone and turned them into 12 second-chance points. St. Bonaventure owned a 43-30 rebounding edge in the game overall, including 16-5 on the offensive end
• An Adams-Woods free throw trimmed the Rams' lead to 48-44 with 9:37 remaining, but Bamisile answered with a traditional three-point play on a hard drive to the bucket. But a short time later, Banks punctuated a 15-5 Bona run with a 3-pointer and gave the Bonnies their first lead of the night at 59-56 with 4:35 on the clock. The Rams rallied to retake the lead when Jackson finished a lefty layup and drew a foul for a three-point play that gave the Rams a 61-59 lead with 3:59 left

NOTABLE

• Bona connected on 20-of-23 free throws, while VCU converted 9-of-11 opportunities
• VCU held the Bonnies to 36 percent (21-of-59) shooting in the game, including 5-of-22 from 3-point range
• VCU saw its 11-game road win streak, the longest active streak in the country, come to an end in Tuesday's loss

NEXT UP
VCU will host Richmond in the Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. That game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.