The No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth men’s basketball team wasted no time legitimizing its place atop the Atlantic 10 rankings on Friday, as the Rams blew out Illinois State 96-58 in their season opener.

VCU (1-0) started off strong with a 30-point lead heading into halftime.

Both Treveon Graham and Terrance Shannon led the Rams with 14 points. Graham also added six rebounds and three assists. VCU had five players score in double figures while the Redbirds only had one; Zach Lofton.

The Rams’ defense was on display as well, holding Illinois State (0-1) to a field goal percentage of 31.7.

VCU’s next game took place late Tuesday night against Virginia in a top-25 showdown.

Sibert helps Dayton triumph with game-winning shot

Dayton stole a win from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (1-1) on Saturday after trailing by one point with six seconds remaining.

After a steal by Kyle Davis off an inbound pass, the Flyers (1-0) found Jordan Sibert open for the game-winning 3-point shot, giving Dayton a thrilling 81-80 win.

Before that shot, the Flyers were led by Dyshawn Pierre, who put up 24 points and added eight rebounds. Matt Kavanaugh also added seven points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, Dayton shot an efficient 7 of 13 from behind the arc.

In the loss, the Mastodons were led by Pierre Bland, who had 18 points. Steve Forbes also chipped in with 17 points and five rebounds.

The Flyers will next take the court against St. Francis on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Manhattan tops La Salle in double overtime

Manhattan shocked  La Salle 99-90 in double overtime on Saturday.,

After both teams only scored eight points in the first overtime, the Jaspers more than doubled that in the second overtime, putting up 18 points to seal the win.

The Explorers (1-1) were led by Tyrone Garland, who dropped 28 points and added four assists, and Tyreek Duren, who had 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Duren added the 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force the game into its first overtime.

George Beamon led Manhattan (1-1) in scoring with 24 points, but this achievement was eclipsed by the performances of Emmy Andujar and Michael Alvarado. Andujar had a double-double, putting up 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Alvarado contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

La Salle bounced back on Tuesday morning with a 73-67 win over Quinnipiac. The Jaspers competed against Columbia on Tuesday night.

Frank Corona can be reached at [email protected].