Marcus Santos-Silva recorded his first career double-double, including a career-high 16 rebounds, and VCU got a pair of late stops to knock off Texas Wednesday night in Austin.
Sophomore forward Sean Mobley came off the bench to hit a crucial three-pointer and finished with seven points in 14 minutes for the Rams (7-2).
Mobley snapped a 49-all tie with his three-pointer from the right wing with 4:38 remaining. Jericho Sims, who led Texas (5-3) with 14 points, nailed a tough jumper in the lane a short time later to pull Texas within 52-51, but the Longhorns would get no closer.
A pair of free throws by redshirt junior guard Issac Vann pushed the VCU lead to 54-51 with 2:36 left. A Kerwin Roach layup at the 1:29 mark trimmed the Rams’ lead to one again, but VCU turned away Texas twice in the waning moments
Junior guard Marcus Evans supplied a game-high 16 points for VCU, while De’Riante Jenkins knocked down four first-half three-pointers and provided 12 points.
VCU outrebounded Texas 39-36, including 17-10 on the offensive glass. The Rams scored 19 second-chance points.
The Rams limited Texas to 4-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc, including 0-of-7 in the second half.
VCU won despite shooting .281 (16-of-57) from the field. But VCU forced 18 Texas turnovers in the contest.
The Rams were 16-of-21 from the free throw line, while Texas was 5-of-8