North Richmond Today

RAMS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO ST. BONAVENTURE 61-58

Score: St. Bonaventure 61, VCU 58

Location: Richmond, Va. (Stuart C. Siegel Center)

Records: VCU 16-6 (7-2 Atlantic 10), St. Bonaventure (11-11, 5-4 Atlantic 10)

Attendance: 7,637 (Sellout)

The short story: Sophomore Jalen DeLoach posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but St. Bonaventure made one more play than the Rams at the end to snap VCU's six-game win streak Saturday

OPENING TIP

• DeLoach's double-double was third of the season, the other two coming in the victories of La Salle and Massachusetts
• Junior Ace Baldwin Jr. led VCU in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and he also led the team in assists with six
• Graduate student Brandon Johns Jr. crashed the glass for seven rebounds and added seven points, five of which came from the free throw line
• St. Bonaventure had three players in double figures. Yann Farrell and Moses Flowers put up 15 points each while Chad Venning chipped in 13 points for the visiting Bonnies

THE DIFFERENCE

• The Rams and Bonnies played a choppy and defensive first half, as the two teams combined for 41 points and 11 turnovers. VCU would go into halftime up 23-18.
• VCU stretched the lead out to nine with a Johns Jr. layup 55 seconds into the second half, but from there, the Bonnies began to chip away at their deficit, taking a one-point lead off of a Kyrell Luc driving layup with 15:17 remaining.
• The Rams went on a 6-0 run that stretched two minutes with four points from DeLoach and two points from Baldwin Jr. The Bonnies would take a timeout at the 6:53 mark to try and quell VCU's momentum. Out of the timeout, St. Bonaventure responded with a 5-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to one at 49-48 with 6:21 remaining
• Down the stretch, the Rams and Bonnies traded baskets and free throws. Ultimately, it was three free throws by Flowers in the final 19 seconds that would prove to be the difference in the final score
• VCU struggled to find their shot, especially on three-pointers. For the game, the Rams went 2-of-16 (12.5%) from beyond the arc, whereas the Bonnies shot 8-of-17 (47.1%) on their three-pointers
• The Black and Gold's shooting woes carried over to the charity stripe, with the Rams going 10-of-18 (55.6%) on free throws to St. Bonaventure's 11-of-15 (73.3%) at the foul line

NOTABLE

• The loss snaps a six-game winning streak for VCU, handing them their second loss in Atlantic 10 play
• This was only the Rams' second loss to St. Bonaventure in the Siegel Center, dropping their home record against the Bonnies to 5-2

Original source can be found here