De’Riante Jenkins poured in a team-high 14 points for VCU, but Rhode Island halted a late comeback by the Black and Gold Saturday in a 65-56 win at the Siegel Center.
Marcus-Santos Silva recorded his sixth double-double of the season, and 12th of his career, for VCU (12-4, 2-1 A-10) after racking up 11 points and 14 rebounds. The junior forward also blocked two shots.
Senior guard Marcus Evans played a season-high 33 minutes while contributing 11 points for the Black and Gold.
Jeff Dowtin led Rhode Island (10-5, 2-1 A-10) with 21 points on the afternoon. Fatts Russell added 16 points and seven steals.
VCU trailed by as many as 15 points with 4:42 left in the first half, but limited Rhode Island to 29 percent (9-of-31) shooting in the second half as the Black and Gold mounted their comeback.
The Rams never led, but pulled to within one point, at 51-50 with 6:46 left, on a putback by Santos-Silva.
But Rhode Island’s Antwan Walker answered on the next possession with a drive for two, and URI knocked down 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to keep VCU at bay.
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