Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

VCU trounces Bulldogs, No. 18 SLU extends streak

MCT

The Virginia Commonwealth men’s basketball team upset No. 20 Butler on Saturday., destroying the Bulldogs, 84-52, in Richmond, Va.

The 32-point decision is the largest margin of victory for the Rams (23-6, 11-3 Atlantic 10) this season against an A-10 team, as the Bulldogs (22-7, 9-5 A 10) dropped to fourth place in the conference standings.

VCU started the onslaught early, starting with a 24-10 run in the first 10 minutes of the game, which consisted of forcing Butler to seven turnovers and a 35 percent field goal percentage on 5-of-14 shooting.

Troy Daniels scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half as the Rams took a commanding 45-21 lead into halftime.

The second half went better for the Bulldogs, but they didn’t do quite enough to even be a presence in the final score, as usually reliable Butler guard Rotnei Clarke almost disappeared with just five points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.

The Bulldogs look to regain their pride on Thursday as they visit Massachusetts, while VCU takes on Richmond on Wednesday.

SLU extends winning streak

Red-hot Saint Louis extended its winning streak to 11 games on Saturday with a 66-58 win at George Washington.

The win over the Colonials (12-15, 6-8 A-10) helped the Billikens (23-5, 12-2 A-10) maintain first place in the A-10 standings.

After trailing 48-45 with six minutes, 41 seconds left in the game, the Billikens went on a 10-0 run to regain a semi-comfortable seven-point lead. GW cut the lead to five points with 2:18 left on a Lasan Kromah layup, but Saint Louis proved too much for any sort of comeback.

Dwayne Evans recorded a double-double with 22 points and 12 boards for SLU while shooting an impressive 7-for-13 from the field. Kwamain Mitchell had 18 points.

With the loss, GW clings to the 11th seed in the A-10 tournament with a trip to La Salle on Wednesday. The Billikens look to keep hold of first place on Wednesday at Xavier.

Bonnies rout Charlotte

St. Bonaventure blew out a struggling Charlotte squad at home, 104-83, on Saturday.

The Bonnies (14-13, 7-7 A 10) showed they were in the zone right from the beginning, outscoring Charlotte, 53-24, in the first half of the game. Bonnies guard Matthew Wright was on fire, shooting 6-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-4 from long-range with 20 points. However, teammate Eric Mosley led the show for St. Bonaventure with 23 points and five rebounds.

Despite a minuscule 24 points in the first half, the 49ers bursted with life in the second half with a high-powered 59 points. The charge was led by guards Terrence Williams and Victor Nickerson, who scored 17 and 18 points, respectively, for Charlotte (18-10, 6-8 A 10).

However, the offensive second half was tainted by allowing 51 points to the Bonnies, making it near-impossible for the 49ers to win the game.

St. Bonaventure travels to Dayton on Wednesday while the 49ers head to Duquesne.

Tom Mulherin can be reached at tmulheri.umass.edu.

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