VCU slips past Davidson, 64-52, setting up rematch with St. Bonaventure in A-10 Championship Game

A balanced scoring attack combined with a smothering defensive effort pushed VCU past Davidson, 64-52, in the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The win sets up a clash between top-seeded St. Bonaventure (15-4) and second-seeded VCU (19-6) in the A-10 Championship Game on Sunday, March 14 at 1 p.m. in Dayton.

The contest will be broadcast on CBS.

The two split their regular-season matchups – St. Bonaventure winning 70-54 at home on Jan. 20, the Rams winning 67-64 in Richmond on Feb. 12.

Defense ruled the day as VCU sophomore forward Hason Ward led the Rams with four blocks and the Black and Gold held the Wildcats to just 30 percent (17-for-57) shooting in the game.

For the second game in a row, Bones Hyland led the Rams in scoring with 12 points. The sophomore also put up four assists, and grabbed five rebounds.

VCU freshman guard Ace Baldwin dished out seven assists to go with seven points and four boards.

Freshman guard Jamir Watkins provided a spark for the Rams off the bench pouring in 10 points, two assists and five rebounds.

Senior forward Corey Douglas connected on all five of his field-goal attempts on the way to 10 points and five rebounds for VCU.

Davidson’s Hyunjung Lee and Kellan Grady each put up 13 points to lead all scorers.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the first half. VCU shot 31 percent (9-of-29) while the Wildcats shot just 17 percent (5-of-30) from the field. With just seven seconds left in the opening period Hyland swiped the ball from Davidson’s Grant Huffman and Baldwin converted on a fast break layup that sent the Rams into the break with a 24-17 advantage.

In the second half, Watkins and Douglas provided the lift that VCU needed following their early struggles from the field. Douglas scored three straight baskets during one critical stretch to give the Rams.

The two combined for 18 points off the bench in a second half which featured VCU shooting 64 percent (17-of-36) from the field.

Davidson was just 9-of-27 from 3-point range, including 3-of-14 in the first half.