Virginia Commonwealth was able to keep itself in the game versus No. 4 Virginia with strong defense, but fouls proved to be costly down the stretch as the Rams fell 57-49 on Sunday afternoon.

Although VCU (7-3) played strong throughout both halves and briefly looked poised to pull off the upset, Virginia (9-0) managed to salvage out a hard-fought win at home to remain undefeated.

The Rams found themselves in the lead 43-40 with 6:30 to go left in the second half, but missed three shots on their next possession. Virginia took advantage, as Ty Jerome promptly hit a 3-pointer that tied the game and started a 17-6 run to finish off the game.

Leading the scoring for the Cavaliers were guards Kyle Guy and Jerome, who hit double digits in scoring with 15 and 14 points respectively. The lone double-digit scorer for the Rams was guard Issac Van, who finished with 10 points on the night. Virginia went 26-30 at the free throw line while VCU went 7-11.

VCU sent a loud message in John Paul Jones Arena, where the Rams were able to show some of the Cavaliers’ weaknesses in a strong defensive performance.

The Rams go on to face the College of Charlestown at home on December 15, while the Cavaliers square off next Wednesday at South Carolina.

Davidson beats Winthrop for fifth straight win

Balanced scoring from all across the court proved to be key for the Davidson men’s basketball team, which cruised to a 99-81 victory against Winthrop on December 4 to secure its fifth straight win.

Five scorers put up double-digit figures for Davidson (8-1), which defeated Winthrop (4-4) by a wide margin.

Jon Axel Gudmundsson led the scoring for the Wildcats, finishing with a well-balanced stat line of 10 rebounds and six assists to go along with his 24 points on the night. Along with him was fellow guard Kellan Grady who finished with 20 points in the game.

Early on, Winthrop found itself ahead of Davidson by eight points, yet a 12-0 run by the Wildcats gave them back the lead. After coming out of halftime with a six-point lead, Davidson took advantage of Winthrop’s mistakes to put the game away, scoring 16 points off turnovers in the second half.

The leading scorer of the game was Winthrop’s guard Nych Smith, who finished with 25 points. He went 7-14 from the field and 4-7 from three-point range, but also committed four of Winthrop’s 16 turnovers.

The Wildcats next play on Friday when they square off against Temple in Atlantic City, while Winthrop returns to action Sunday against Hiwassee College.

Frederick Hanna can be reached at f[email protected].