North Richmond Today

WATKINS PROVIDES SPARK AS RAMS PULL AWAY FROM RICHMOND

Score: VCU 74, Richmond 62

Location: Richmond, Va. (Robins Center)

Records: VCU 15-5 (6-1 A-10), Richmond 11-9 (4-3) 

The short story: Redshirt sophomore Jamir Watkins led five Rams in double figures with 15 points and registered his second double-double of the season as VCU earned a crosstown win at Richmond Friday.

OPENING TIP

• Watkins finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for VCU. He connected on 5-of-8 field goals, including 2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line. The Trenton, N.J. native added two blocks, two steals and two assists
• Junior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. added 14 points, five assists and a pair of steals for the Rams, while graduate forward Brandon Johns Jr. provided 12 points and four boards
• Sophomore guard Jayden Nunn and senior forward David Shriver supplied 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Black and Gold. Shriver hit 2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc
• Tyler Burton led Richmond with 14 points 

THE DIFFERENCE

• Watkins buried a 3-pointer and converted a traditional three-point play to spark a 15-0 VCU run over a four-minute span in the second half that gave the Rams a 68-49 cushion with 4:34 remaining. VCU would lead the game by as many as 21 points in the second half
• VCU limited Burton, the Atlantic 10 Conference's second-leading scorer, to 5-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range. He also recorded six turnovers
• The Rams held the Spiders without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes during one second-half stretch as VCU built its lead
• Richmond shot .373 (19-of-51) from the field in the game, including .280 (7-of-25) from 3-point range
• VCU connected at a .473 (26-of-55) clip from the floor and owned a 37-27 rebounding advantage 

NOTABLE

• VCU leads the all-time series between these two teams 58-32
• The Rams have won five games in a row and 10 of 11 overall. VCU has won three straight road contests
• VCU's bench outscored Richmond's 31-19
• Five Rams scored in double figures Friday, the fourth time this season that has happened

Original source can be found here