Men’s basketball (15-12, 6-8 Atlantic 10) fell 89-75 to Virginia Commonwealth (21-6, 12-2 A-10) Tuesday night in Richmond, as late-game lapses overshadowed a strong second-half push.
Despite a strong start to the second half, the Revolutionaries faltered in the final 10 minutes, being outscored 24-8 by the Rams and suffering their eighth conference loss. After snapping a four-game losing streak last week with a narrow win over Rhode Island and a convincing victory over George Mason, the Revs fell back to two games under .500 in A-10 play with four regular-season games remaining before the March championships.
The Revs, missing redshirt senior center Rafael Castro for a sixth straight game, held their own against the top-tier Rams who, with No. 18 Saint Louis (24-2, 11-1) falling to Rhode Island tonight, now trail the Billikens by just half a game for the A-10’s top spot.
Leading the way offensively once again for the Revs was graduate student forward Luke Hunger, who had his third consecutive game of 20 points, scoring 24 and hauling down 10 rebounds for a double-double. Graduate student guard Tre Dinkins racked up 16, and graduate student forward Tyrone Marshall Jr. added 14.
It was a quiet game for the Revs’ guards, with redshirt sophomore Christian Jones, junior Trey Autry and junior Jean Aranguren combining for 11 points on four for 14 shooting and two for nine from three. Aranguren only saw 19 minutes due to foul troubles, finishing the night with 1 point and four fouls.
The Rams got out to a strong start, holding a 16-6 lead just under five minutes in. GW responded with a 15-4 run that gave them a 21-20 lead at the 11:28 mark.
Virginia Commonwealth scored the next 9 points, taking a 29-21 lead on a layup from senior guard Barry Evans. The lead reached 10 with 5:42 after an and-one, but the Revs continued to fight back, using a pair of threes from Dinkins and one from Hunger to trail 48-46 at the half.
Jones gave the Revs the lead right away in the second half when his bid from deep found nylon and the Revs continued to add on, using baskets from Dinkins, Hunger and Marshall to hold a 58-52 lead five minutes in.
Hunger, who has found his shot from deep as of late, was good from downtown and added two free throws to bump the lead to 63-56 in favor of the Revs at the 13:23 mark.
Holding a 7-point lead with just under 12 minutes to go, the Revs bench was called for a technical foul, one of 14 total fouls for the team in the second half and 21 in the game. This turned the tide for the Rams who used the momentum to tie the game at 65 with 10:34 to go.
A tip-in from Hunger with 9:32 to go in the game was the last time the Revs led all night, as VCU swung the pendulum to go on a 14-4 run over the next four minutes to hold a 79-69 lead with 4:48 to go.
The final four minutes saw the Revs unable to claw back in, as the Rams’ swarming defense forced eight total turnovers in the second half and held the Revs to 9-28 from the field and only four for 15 from three in the final 20 minutes. In all, Virginia Commonwealth outscored the Revs 41-29 in the second.
The Revs have a weeklong hiatus before their next game, which could benefit injured players like Castro and junior guard Bubu Benjamin. GW hits the road for Philadelphia next Tuesday, where they’ll take on the La Salle Explorers (7-18, 3-9 A-10) at 6:30 p.m.
