Men's Hoops Team Starts Hot, but VCU Rallies to Win, 81-70

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The start belonged to Princeton, but the finish belonged to VCU Tuesday night in Richmond as the Rams recovered from a hot Tiger start to win 81-70.

Devin Cannady led the Tigers with 16 points and with Spencer Weisz (14) and Steven Cook (10) joining him in double figures. JeQuan Lewis led all scorers with 25 for VCU.

Princeton began the game on a 16-0 run before VCU got on the board with a pair of Lewis free throws just less than six minutes into the game, and the Rams battled through an 0-5 start from the field with six turnovers before their first basket, a De'Riante Jenkins 3-pointer a minute after the Lewis free throws.

But, the Rams recovered, and after trailing Princeton by 10 with three minutes to go before the half, closed the gap with 10 straight points and entered the half tied 39-39.

Princeton shot 60 percent (15-25) before the break, including 4 of 7 from 3, and outrebounded the Rams 14-8, but 15 first-half turnovers hurt the Tigers as the miscues led to 23 VCU first-half points.

Neither team led by more than 3 points after the break until VCU hit back-to-back 3s with the second coming with just less than four minutes to go to put the Rams up 70-64. Princeton remained stuck on 64 after a Myles Stephens bucket with 6:02 to play until an Amir Bell 3 with 2:10 to play, during which the Rams went on a 7-0 run.

VCU, up 71-66, responded to the Bell 3 with a pair of Samir Doughty free throws and closed it out from the stripe, going 8 of 8 beginning with the Doughty pair.

Princeton cleaned up the turnovers in the second half, committing just four after the break, but VCU closed the gap on the glass, winning that stat 28-26, and outshot the Tigers from the field, 55.6 percent to 50 percent on the night. Struggles from the stripe, as Princeton finished 8 of 15 there, hurt the Tigers' cause.

Princeton will head to Hawaii to play in the Pearl Harbor Invitational Tuesday and Wednesday, facing California and Hawai'i. Like VCU, Cal received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.

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