VCU guard Zeb Jackson hit a 15-foot stepback jumper as time expired to give the Rams a hard-fought 55-54 win at Rhode Island Wednesday night.
Jackson scored all nine of his points in the second half to hep spearhead the VCU comeback.
Brandon Johns Jr. led the Rams (19-7, 10-3 A-10) with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. He connected on 6-of-8 field goal attempts and knocked down 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Nick Kern Jr. added nine points and three boards for the Black and Gold, while redshirt sophomore guard Jamir Watkins provided eight points and four rebounds off the bench
Rhode Island’s Ishmael Leggett led all players with 21 points.
Leggett hit two free throws with 4.2 seconds left to give Rhode Island (8-17, 4-9 A-10) a 54-53 lead. On the ensuing inbound play, Jackson caught the ball in the backcourt and streaked up the right side of the floor before stopping and stepping back for the game-winner from the right wing.
VCU trailed most of the way, and were down as many as 13 points with 11:44 remaining. Jackson finished a pair of layups around the rim to kick off a 13-2 run that gave the Black and Gold a 48-47 lead with 3:37 remaining.
In the waning moments, Watkins briefly pushed VCU to the brink of victory with a putback with 21 seconds remaining. But Leggett drove to the rim on Rhody’s ensuing possession and drew a foul with 4.2 seconds left.
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Chris Graham
