Score: VCU 84, Bellarmine 65
Location: Richmond, Va. (Stuart C. Siegel Center)
Records: VCU 1-0, Bellarmine 0-1
Attendance: 7,637 (Sellout)
 
The short story: Guard Joe Bamisile scored his 1,000^th career point and teamed with graduate teammates Max Shulga, Phillip Russell and Jack Clark for 64 of VCU's 84 points in a comfortable opening-night win at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
 
OPENING TIP

• Shulga shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to finish with a team-best 19 points. He added five rebounds and five assists
• Bamisile poured in 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting
• Russell ignited the VCU crowd with a team-high five 3-pointers (5-of-9) and finished with 16 points, four assists and three steals
• Clark, a transfer from Clemson, chipped in 11 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots
• Sophomore Michael Belle sparked the Rams off the bench with six points and a team-best 10 rebounds
• Bellarmine's Dezmond McKinney and Ben Johnson led the Knights with 15 points 

THE DIFFERENCE

• The Rams knocked down 15-of-29 threes in the contest and shot 53 percent (29-of-55) overall from the field in the game
• VCU redshirt sophomore Fats Billups III knocked down a contested three with four minutes remaining in the first half to give the Rams a 13-point lead at 38-25 with 4:05 left
• Russell buried back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to push the Rams to a 51-40 advantage with 18:16 showing
• Later, Bamisile keyed a 10-0 Black and Gold blitz with a pair of thunderous baseline dunks to extend the VCU margin to 70-51 with 10:13 left in the game

NOTABLE

• Bamisile joins teammates Shulga, Russell and Clark in the 1,000-point club
• VCU led for 38:29 Monday

NEXT UP
VCU faces ACC opponent Boston College on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. in the Veterans Classic, hosted by the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. The match-up will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.