University of Richmond
VCU
VCU Pulls Away From Richmond In Second Half, 84-73
02/18/2017 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. – VCU used an early second-half run and claimed an 84-73 win over Richmond in the Lumber Liquidators Capital City Classic on Friday night in the Robins Center.
The Spiders trailed by just one point at halftime, but VCU's size and its 40 points in the paint kept the margin at two possessions for most of the second half.
Richmond was led by T.J. Cline who tallied 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. ShawnDre' Jones tallied his eighth 20-point game of the season as he scored 20 points with three assists.
Freshman De'Monte Buckingham had nine points and seven rebounds.
The Rams were led by JeQuan Lewis' 16 points, while Jonathan Williams came off the bench to score 15.
Richmond forced 17 turnovers on six steals while only giving up the ball 11 times. The Spiders also held a 9-5 advantage on the offensive glass with 11 second-chance points.
The Rams held a lead for most of the first half until Cline connected on a three-pointer to tie the game at 26. After a Nick Sherod rebound, Jones found Cline in the open court and a fast-break layup gave the Spiders the lead. Sherod then knocked down a three-pointer to put the Spiders up five.
UR led by as many as six after a Buckingham putback, but the Rams closed out the half with strong defense and a jumper from Ahmed Hamdy gave them a 36-35 lead at the break.
VCU found space in the interior and opened the second half with eight straight points to build a nine-point lead. The Spiders were able to draw fouls and get to the free throw line, but VCU three-pointers came in timely fashion and the Spiders couldn't get closer than a six-point margin the rest of the way.
Richmond will host Davidson on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
