George Washington University
9-8 (1-3)
VCU
14-3 (4-0)
Men's Basketball Falls at VCU, 85-55
1/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va.-- Looking to ride some momentum after a big second half rally in an eventual loss to Richmond in their last game, the GW men's basketball team traveled to VCU on Wednesday and sought to get back in the win column against the Rams. VCU wouldn't budge though and after GW scored the first bucket of the game, the Rams took over and cruised to an 85-55 win for their eighth victory in a row and fourth in four games in conference play.
Jair Bolden was a bright spot with his shooting for GW as the freshman from Brooklyn tallied a career-high 12 points on 5-of-10 shots from the field. Yuta Watanabe also stayed hot with a team-high 17 points in a 5-of-9 effort. While the Colonials were able to outrebound the Rams, 26-16 in the first half, and once again make more free throws (17) than the opposition attempted (16), the team's usual recipe for success didn't cook up anything for GW at the Siegel Center.
VCU held GW to .367 shooting including 2-of-16 from long range, while riding their trademark pressure to force 17 Colonials' miscues that led to 22 points on the other end, and responded to outrebound GW 19-9 in the second half. The Rams got 48 of their 85 points from close range in the paint, 21 from behind the arc and another 12 at the line in an efficient offensive performance. Justin Tillman led the way for the home team with a game-high 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with 13 rebounds, while Mo Alie-Cox (14 points, 5-of-8 fg) and Jonathan Williams (11 points, seven assists) also hit double figures for VCU. JeQuan Lewis dished a game-high seven assists and swiped three of VCU's nine steals.
The game allowed GW's bench to play significant minutes in the hostile road environment and the Colonials' reserves outscored the starters 29-26. After Bolden's 12, fellow freshman Collin Smith chipped in 10 to be the third Colonial in double digits, while another freshman big man Kevin Marfo had five points at the free throw line in a game-high 10 attempts at the charity stripe.
The road doesn't get much easier for GW as the team travels next to La Salle on Sunday for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off on NBCSN. La Salle is currently 2-1 in conference play ahead of a Thursday night date at Rhode Island.
