VCU set a program single-game record for points allowed as it throttled George Mason as it clinched its first outright Atlantic 10 Conference regular season championship Tuesday night in Fairfax.
The Rams, who have one regular season game remaining, will be the No. 1 overall seed at the A-10 Tournament March 13-17 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
VCU (24-6, 15-2 A-10), which has won 11 straight games, claimed its first outright regular-season conference crown since it did so in the CAA in 2009.
VCU, which joined the A-10 prior to the 2012-13 season, shared the regular-season crown with Dayton and St. Bonaventure in 2015-16. VCU also captured the 2015 A-10 Tournament title.
The Rams surrendered just 15 second-half points on the way to establishing a new school record for points allowed. It surpassed the previous mark of 37 points, set on Feb. 11, 1992 against New Hampshire.
Redshirt junior guard Marcus Evans keyed VCU with 13 points and two steals, while junior guard De’Riante Jenkins added 11 points and four rebounds. Sophomore forward Marcus Santos-Silva added nine points, nine rebounds and a block.
Jordan Miller paced the Patriots (16-14, 10-7 A-10) with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
VCU forced 22 turnovers and collected 12 steals in the game, and turned them into 28 points.
The Rams held the Patriots to a .245 (12-of-49) mark from the field in the game, including .185 (5-of-27) in the second half. George Mason was 2-of-18 from 3-point range.
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