Sean Bairstow handed out a career-high 12 assists, and graduate forward Kuany Kuany buried a pair of late three-pointers, to lift VCU to a 71-65 win at La Salle on Saturday.
Bairstow recorded his first double-double in a VCU uniform with 14 points to go along with his 12 assists. He knocked down 4-of-5 attempts from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Kuany knocked down all three of his three-point attempts in the game and finished with 14 points, all in the second half.
Sophomore forward Christian Fermin added 12 points and four rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting, while senior guard Max Shulga provided 13 points and nine rebounds for the Black and Gold (10-7, 2-2 A-10).
Sophomore forward Tobi Lawal kicked in nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Jhamir Brickus led all players with 20 points for La Salle (10-7, 1-3 A-10).
Lawal slammed home a feed from Bairstow with 1:36 remaining to give the Rams a 64-62 lead. Kuany buried a triple from the left corner on the Rams’ next possession to push VCU to a five-point cushion with 58 seconds on the clock.
VCU would not trail again, but Brickus hit a three-pointer with 48 ticks left to trim the Rams’ lead to 67-65.
Bairstow found Lawal for another dunk on VCU’s ensuing possession. A La Salle turnover effectively snuffed out the Explorers’ comeback chances with 21 seconds remaining.
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Chris Graham
