Senior forward Vince Williams Jr. tied a career-high with 21 points, and VCU forced 27 turnovers on the way to a 70-54 win over Saint Joseph’s Saturday at the Siegel Center.
Williams also corralled seven rebounds and connected on 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Williams is 8-of-14 from 3-point range in across his last two games.
Sophomore guard Ace Baldwin Jr. grabbed a career-high seven steals while scoring 11 points along with six assists and five rebounds.
Senior guard KeShawn Curry was the third Ram in double figures at 12 points while adding five rebounds and two assists.
VCU (11-6, 4-2 A-10) led 27-13 in points off turnovers, forcing Saint Joseph’s (8-9, 2-4 A-10) into 27. The turnovers allowed the Rams to lead the Hawks 18-2 in fast break points
The Rams outscored the Hawks 38-14 in points in the paint and led 14-6 in second chance points
VCU led Saint Joseph’s 53-48 with 6:49 remaining before graduate forward Levi Stockard III scored off a turnover and jumpstarted a 17-6 run to close the game
The Black and Gold limited Saint Joseph’s to shoot just 28.6 percent in the first half but trailed 25-24 at the half. The Hawks were able to shoot 10-of-10 at the free throw line in the first half
VCU started the second half on an 8-0 run and led 32-25 after a Curry dunk with 18:45 remaining. The Hawks responded with a quick 7-2 run to cut the Rams’ lead to 34-32 with 16:52 left
The Rams were slow to pull away from Saint Joseph’s until the Hawks turned the ball over with 6:28 left and Stockard III’s layup allowed VCU to go on the 17-6 run
Treveon Graham became the sixth Ram to have his jersey retired in a pregame ceremony. Graham is VCU’s second all-time leading scorer and led VCU to four NCAA Tournament appearances
The Rams will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 26 when they face Davidson at Belk Arena. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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