North Richmond Today

TREY FALL, SIEGEL CENTER RISES AS RAMS TOP WILDCATS

On Saturday afternoon at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, VCU Basketball put on a show from downtown, finishing with 15-made 3-point baskets that led directly to an 89-72 Atlantic 10 win over Davidson.
 
Those made shots energized the Siegel Center crowd of 7,101 screaming Ram fans, and as the shots fell, not just by one Ram, but a collection of Rams who could not miss from beyond the arc, VCU shot its way to its sixth-straight home win.
 
"It gives you confidence when you see the first shot fall and then you see the next go and it just builds the confidence," said VCU Head Coach Mike Rhoades. "I thought that we just got high-quality shots today and that basket gets bigger and bigger as those shots fall."
 
As a team, the Rams shot 63 percent from beyond the arc (15-of-24). Their 15 made threes were the team's most since 2017. Overall, the rams shot a season-high 58 percent (32-of-55). Over the last three games, the Rams have connected on 30-of-62 from 3-point range (48 percent).
 
Against Davidson the baskets came from a collection of Rams on 20 assists, the most in conference play this season and the second-most this season for VCU.
 
"We got great inside-outside action and the ball got hot for us today," said Rhoades. "Getting team shots was an offensive emphasis for us in this game and we did that, thanks to our passing and ball movement."
 
One Ram in particular could not miss, feeding off the great ball movement all afternoon.
 
Senior forward David Shriver converted a team-high six 3-pointers, finishing 6-of-8 from long range. Out of the gate, the West Virginia native was on fire.
 
With the Rams digging into an early Davidson lead, Shriver took the ball off a turnover and pulled up from beyond the arc at the 12:49 mark and found nothing but net. He buried his next three 3-point attempts as well as VCU began to take control of the game.  
 
"My teammates have kept their confidence in me and have had my back throughout the season," said Shriver.
 
That confidence showed as Shriver seemed to step back further and further with each attempt, before finally missing 35-footer on his fifth try.
 
"Sometimes I don't realize how far I'm going back until I finally miss, and when I'm in the zone, I'm laser focused," The Philipi, W.Va. native said.
 
Shriver was not alone in being lights out from beyond the arc, as he was joined by sophomore guard Jayden Nunn, senior guard Ace Baldwin Jr. and redshirt sophomore guard Jamir Watkins who all had great afternoons from long range.
 
Nunn finished 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and Watkins added a 2-for-4 shooting performance as well.
 
Baldwin Jr., who connected on 3-for-6 treys, got things going for the Rams early, scoring VCU's first seven points from the field, and with VCU down 10-6 after the opening five minutes, he got the crowd going as well.
 
Bringing the ball down the court, Baldwin Jr. confidently pulled up early in the possession, hitting a 3-point basket that woke the Siegel Center up. Shriver's opening volley from the arc followed a short time later and the Rams were off and running.
 
"We have the best crowd in the nation," said Baldwin Jr. "So we feed off of them when the shots fall. And the crowd's energy helps us on defense, so as we hit the shots and feed off them, we start playing harder on the defensive end."
 
Offensive successes leading into the defense were a big piece of the puzzle, and the energy in the Siegel Center fed into VCU forcing a pair of first-half shot clock violations, to go along with causing 20 Davidson turnovers throughout the game.
 
"When the shots start dropping and we get the press going, it's entertaining and a fun atmosphere to be in," said Rhoades. "The Siegel Center has always been a special place and playing in front of fans who care about our guys makes it that way."
 
On Saturday afternoon the Rams gave the Siegel Center plenty to be loud about, and with the confidence growing VCU will keep putting them up from downtown. 

Original source can be found here