RICHMOND, Va. — VCU was defeated by St.Bonaventure 70-54 at the Reilly Center on Wednesday, Jan. 20 after leading by 15 points at halftime.
Bones Hyland provided a team-high 16 points, but a dominant second-half performance by St. Bonaventure dashed VCU’s hopes of a fourth Atlantic 10 road win Wednesday. Hyland knocked down 4-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc and added four rebounds and a pair of steals for the Black and Gold, while Vince Williams canned 3-of-7 triples for the Rams on the way to his ninth double-digit performance of the season but it was not enough. The game was a tale of two halves. VCU built a 40-25 halftime lead on the strength of a 28-15 rebounding advantage and a defense that held the Bonnies to 31-percent (10-of-32) shooting from the floor. The Rams took a 15-point lead into the break but shot 19 percent (5-of-26) in the second as the Bonnies outscored VCU 45-14. VCU led 43-29 with 18:56 remaining but watched as St. Bonaventure embarked on a 16-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back alley-oop dunks by Osun Ossunniyi. VCU never fully recovered. Williams tied it a short time later at 51-all, but VCU scored just one field goal in the final 11:15 as the Bonnies closed the game on a 19-3 run. St. Bonaventure shot 56 percent (15-of-27) in the second half and outrebounded VCU 22-14 in the period. VCU built a 40-25 halftime lead on the strength of a 28-15 rebounding advantage and a defense that held the Bonnies to 31-percent (10-of-32) shooting from the floor.
The story of the game was VCU going ice cold in the second half. From shooting 42.4% in the first half to 19.23% from the field in the second, they quite literally could not buy a basket in the second period of play. The Rams only scored 14 points compared to St. Bonaventure’s 45 points in the second half. VCU shot better from the free-throw line, won the rebounding battle, and had 5 more blocked shots than the Bonnies, but when you shoot the ball so poorly it is almost impossible to win. The black and gold are now 10-4 on the season and 3-2 in conference play.
The Rams’ next scheduled contest will be on Saturday, Jan. 23 when they host Dayton at the Siegel Center at 4:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
