Final score: VCU 75, Samford 65.
Location: Siegel Center.
Current records: VCU 1-1. Samford 0-2.
In a nutshell: Once again, the home team started out cold. The Bulldogs enjoyed a 13-point Lead midway through the first half. But the Rams woke up and closed the margin to 3 points by the end of the first stanza.
At the 7:02 mark of the second half VCU got its first lead: 56-to-54. After that the Rams never trailed. At the final buzzer, to the delight of a packed Siegel Center crowd, VCU's new head coach, Ryan Odom, had picked up his first victory.
For most of the game's 40 minutes the Rams hustled but struggled. They committed 21 turnovers! However, Odom's team -- very much a work-in-progress -- gathered itself in the last few minutes of the contest and a strong finish at both ends of the floor did the trick.
Shulga's 17 points set the scoring pace for the Rams. Three of his teammates scored in double figures. Jackson scored 13; Nelson poured in 11 and made 6 steals; Fermin notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. He also made 5 blocks.
NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)
● The Rams fell behind by eight early in the second period, but whittled the deficit down to a one-possession game before finally taking the lead on a Fermin and-one at the seven-minute mark of the second half
● Samford would tie the game shortly following, but the Rams pushed their lead to as many as eighth before Samford began fouling down the stretch to save time as VCU closed it out by ten
● VCU shot 42 percent (11-of-26) from the field in the first half and 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second, as they chipped away at the Bulldog lead
● VCU got off to a slow start, turning the ball over nine times in the first half on the way to a 13-points deficit at the 7:09 mark
● In the last five minutes of the first half, the Rams used a 17-4 run to trim the deficit to three. During that stretch the Rams forced three Samford turnovers
● The Rams outscored the Bulldogs 40-30 in the paint and they owned a 26-16 advantage in bench points
BOX SCORE:
NEXT UP:
On Wednesday, Nov. 15 the Rams will host Radford. Tipoff at the Siegel Center is at 7 p.m.
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