Seahawk Smackdown: VCU rolls UNCW 91-57

Virginia Commonwealth ushered in the New Year by thoroughly dismantling UNC Wilmington to claim a 91-57 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Siegel Center Saturday afternoon.

January 3, 2010; 9:11 AM • by William King

Virginia Commonwealth ushered in the New Year by thoroughly dismantling UNC Wilmington to claim a 91-57 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Siegel Center Saturday afternoon.

The Rams opened the game with a 10-0 run, hitting 9 of their first 10 field goal attempts. VCU’s stifling defense held the Seahawks to just two field goals over the first 16 minutes of the contest.

UNCW shot a dismal 16.7 percent from the field and missed 29 of their first 31 field goals attempts, trailing by as many as 32 in the first half.

VCU’s full court pressure caused 15 first half turnovers helping the Rams amass a 43-17 lead at intermission.

Unfortunately, things did not get any better for the Seahawks in the second half. Head coach Benny Moss was forced to call his last time out with 17:54 left in the game, trailing 51-17 after the Rams scored the first eight points in the second frame.

With a little more 12 minutes left to play UNCW was just 10 of 52 from the field and had turned the ball over 23 times. The Seahawks finished 19 of 67 (28.4 percent) with 28 turnovers.

The VCU lead would reach as many as 46 in the second half.

All 14 players on the VCU roster scored at least once in the game. Junior Larry Sanders, who played just 5 minutes in the second half, led the way with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Junior Joey Rodriguez had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and added 5 assists and two steals and junior transfer Jamie Skeen finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Junior Chad Tomko led the way for UNC Wilmington with 14 points, while junior John Fields added 10 points and 9 rebounds down low for the Seahawks.

The Rams are riding a four game win streak improved to 9-2 overall and 1-1 in the CAA. The Seahawks lost their third straight and fourth in five outings to drop to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in CAA play.

The Rams close out a three-game homestand on Monday with a 7:30 match up against Northeastern. The Seahawks will travel to Williamsburg to battle William & Mary on Monday at 7 p.m.