VCU led by as many as 20 in the first half, but St. Bonaventure turned the tables with a solid defensive effort, on its way to a 67-62 win on Tuesday.
Senior guard Max Shulga poured in a season-high 25 points for VCU (13-8, 5-3 A-10).
Shulga buried all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half and finished 6-of-9 from beyond the arc for the Rams. He was 8-of-12 from the field overall and added four rebounds and three assists.
The Rams led by as many as 20 points, at 39-19, on a Joe Bamisile three-pointer with 2:51 to go in the first half.
VCU headed into the locker room with a 39-26 advantage, after shooting shot 54 percent (14-of-26) from the floor in the first half, including 10-of-15 from three.
The Bonnies (13-7, 4-4 A-10) held VCU to 26 percent shooting (7-of-27) from the field in the second. VCU missed 13 of its 14 three-point attempts in the second half.
A Mika Adams-Woods free throw trimmed the Rams’ lead to 48-44 with 9:37 remaining, but Bamisile answered with a traditional three-point play on a hard drive to the bucket.
A short time later, Daryl Banks punctuated a 15-5 Bonnies run with a three-pointer and gave the Bonnies their first lead of the night at 59-56 with 4:35 on the clock.
The Rams rallied to retake the lead when Jackson finished a lefty layup and drew a foul for a three-point play that gave the Rams a 61-59 lead with 3:59 left.
Charles Pride hit a pair of go-ahead free throws for St. Bonaventure with 1:15 remaining that made it 63-62. VCU’s next two possessions produced a missed three-point attempt and a turnover, and Adams-Woods extended the Bonnies’ advantage to 65-62 on a pair of free throws with 18.1 seconds left.
The Rams got a pair of looks from three-point range on their final possession, but were unable to get either to fall.
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Chris Graham
