Joe Bamisile poured in 27 points and Max Shulga buried a pair of clutch three-pointers down the stretch as VCU defeated Saint Louis, 95-85, Friday night at Chaifetz Arena.
Bamisile knocked down 7-of-13 attempts from the field, including 5-of-9 from the three-point arc.
Shulga scored 26 points, 16 of them in the second half. He connected on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and converted 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Shulga added six rebounds and three assists.
Sean Bairstow chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Rams (17-8, 9-3 A-10).
Sincere Parker led all scorers with 30 points for the Billikens (9-16, 2-10 A-10).
Saint Louis pieced together a number of second-half rallies. The Billikens pulled within 85-80 with 2:50 remaining, but Shulga canned a step-back three-pointer from the wing with 2:14 left to give VCU an eight-point margin. On the Rams’ ensuing possession, Shulga connected again from deep to supply the Rams with a 91-82 advantage with less than a minute to play.
Shulga added four free throws in the waning moments to cement the VCU victory.