Score: VCU 73, Saint Joseph's 69
Location: Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center)
Records: VCU 18-9 (10-4 Atlantic 10), Saint Joseph's 17-11 (7-8)
Attendance: 7,637 (Sellout)
 
The short story: Sophomore forward Tobi Lawal tied a career-high with 16 points, and senior guard Joe Bamisile provided late-game heroics as VCU overcame a poor first half shooting to take down Saint Joseph's on Homecoming Sunday.
 
OPENING TIP

• Lawal notched his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting
• Bamisile also contributed 16 second-half points and seven rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting for the Black and Gold. He connected on 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc
• Senior guard Max Shulga supplied 12 points while dishing out five assists and grabbing six rebounds for the Rams
• Graduate wing Sean Bairstow chipped in nine points and six assists to the VCU effort
• Erik Reynolds, who hit six second-half 3-pointers, and Xzayvier Brown led Saint Joseph's with 21 points each

THE DIFFERENCE

• VCU opened the half on a 11-0 run over the first three minutes to lead 32-27, capped off by a Max Shulga dunk on a fast break. The Rams continued their charge in the second, leading by as many as 10 with 3:29 remaining. The Hawks cut the VCU lead to two points on two occasions in the second, only to see the Rams respond with a Bamisile three and then Lawal dunk. On the Rams' penultimate possession, Bamisile hit a 10-foot fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired to give VCU a 71-66 lead with 15 seconds on the clock
• The Rams shot 72 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half, including 58 percent (7-of-12) from long distance
• The first half was a near polar opposite of the second. The two teams combined to shoot 25 percent (14-of-57), including 4-of-24 from 3-point range
• Saint Joseph's went on a 14-2 run to open up a 18-9 lead at the 7:12 mark of the first as the Rams suffered a stretch of eight missed field goals
• VCU matched the Hawks in scoring through the final five minutes of the half to go into the intermission down six, 27-21
• The Rams owned a 39-32 advantage on the class 

NOTABLE

• VCU improved to 6-0 all-time at the Siegel Center against Saint Joseph's. The Rams have won six in a row in the series, a streak that dates back to the 2017-18 season
• Shulga needs just nine points to reach 1,000 for his career
• Behind Lawal and Bamisile, VCU's bench outscored Saint Joe's 39-10

NEXT UP
VCU will host Rhode Island on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. That match-up will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.