Senior guard KeShawn Curry scored a career-high 28 points and junior forward Hason Ward turned in his fifth career double-double to lead VCU to a 73-64 win over Rhode Island Tuesday night.
Curry scored 21 of his points in the first half and added five rebounds and two assists in the game. He connected on 9-of-11 shots from the floor, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
Ward scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and added an assist. He finished 5-of-6 from the field.
Freshman forward Jalen DeLoach scored eight points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds for the Black and Gold (15-7, 8-3 A-10), while senior forward Vince Williams Jr. dished out a team-high seven assists.
Makhel Mitchell led Rhode Island (12-10, 3-7 A-10) with 12 points.
VCU held Rhode Island to .304 (7-of-23) shooting from the floor in the first half and ended the half on a 12-1 run to take a 41-24 lead heading into the locker room behind Curry’s 21 points.
Rhode Island pulled within 10 points with 11 minutes to go, but VCU responded with four straight points from Ward as VCU closed out the game over the final stretch.
The Black and Gold shot .491 (26-of-53) from the floor and outscored Rhode Island 24-18 in points from turnovers.
The Rams travel to Fairfax on Saturday to face George Mason for a 4 p.m. tip. The game will air on MASN2 and ESPN+.