Richmond, VA – On Saturday afternoon the Stuart C. Siegal Center packed in 7,189 screaming fans to watch their VCU Rams (6-5) take down Temple 87-78, led by Zeb Jackson and Max Shulga both scoring 19 points each. Jackson was a stat stuffer adding six rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Shulga added six rebounds and five assists. Kuany Kuany finished with 12 points, shooting 4-of-7 and 2-of-3 from 3. The Rams got a big boost from Oklahoma transfer Joe Bamisile off the bench, scoring 11 points in 19 minutes in his season debut. The Owls (6-4) was led by the sharp shooting of the Belgium native Sam Hofman, scoring 17 points with 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Hysier Miller added 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds in a tough day shooting (6-of-17 and 1-of-7 from 3) for the Owls. Jahlil White finished with a double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds, adding four assists and two steals.
In the first half both teams displayed the phrase “night and day”, with the Rams playing the role of “day” they shot 19-of-31 (61.3%) from the field and 7-of-14 (50%) from 3. The Rams got great production from their experienced backcourt of Jackson, Shulga and Bamisile as they combined for 28 of the Rams 50 first half points. With the Owls playing the role of “night”, they just couldn’t get it going in the first half, shooting 10-of-29 (34.5%) from the field and 6-of-17 (35.3%) from behind the arc. Hysier Miller (6’1”, PG) came into today as the Owls leading scorer (18.4) had a half to forget, shooting 0-of-6 and 0-of-4 from distance in the half.
In the second half the roles were reversed as the Owls came out on a mission to cut into the 19-point halftime deficit. Miller and White (6’7” G) led the way at chipping away at VCU’s lead. Miller had 15 of his 16 points in the second half with White having 10 of his 14 points. The Owls shot 54.2% (19-of-35) from the field and 6-of-17 (35.3%) from behind the arc in the second half. VCU had just enough of a halftime lead to hold on for the win. The Rams went cold in the second half, shooting 39.2% (11-of-28) and 2-of-10 from 3. They were able to seal the victory with back-to-back steals by Jackson and Shulga that led to dunks on the other end as the Rams shot 13-of-16 (81%) from the free-throw line down the stretch.
Next up for Temple (6-4) they will head to Hawaii to play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic to take on the Nevada Wolfpack. Nevada (8-1) is led by Kenan Blackshear (6’6”, G), a big, strong guard that can do it all. Blackshear is a stat filler as he is averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and shooting an efficient 55.9% from the field. VCU will face a struggling Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks (2-6) team led by Junior Troy Hupstead (6’7”, F). The Mt. Vernon native will come to the game with a team high averaging 12.7 points and 8.9 rebounds. VCU have won two in a row while the Hawks look to snap their four game losing streak.
This article was written by David Giles, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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