BENCH LEADS RAMS TO WIN OVER WILLIAM & MARY Box Score 02-08-01 RICHMOND, Va. - Freshman Domonic Jones (Chesterfield, Va./Manchester) scored 16 points off the bench and Virginia Commonwealth got a strong defensive effort as the Rams posted a 70-59 victory over Colonial Athletic Association rival William & Mary Thursday night before 4,910 fans at the ALLTEL Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. With the win VCU improved to 15-9 overall and moved into a first-place tie with George Mason in the CAA standings with an 8-3 conference record. The Rams also avenged three straight defeats to William & Mary (8-14, 5-7 CAA), including a 65-63 Tribe triumph in Williamsburg on January 13. Jones connected on six of eight field goal attempts and led a Rams' bench which scored 32 of the team's 70 points. Senior Scott Lilly (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) also contributed eight points and a team-high four assists as a reserve, as VCU overcame a subpar shooting performance (37.7% for the game) and a 40-34 William & Mary margin on the boards. "Like I've said before, our depth is the strength of the team," said Rams' head coach Mack McCarthy. "Domonic did a nice job offensively. He can create things on his own when the team stuff isn't working as well." William & Mary scored the game's first eight points and held a 12-9 lead when time out was called with 12:32 remaining before halftime. McCarthy then substituted all five of his starters, and the Rams responded with 12 straight points to take a 23-12 advantage with 6:50 left to play in the first half. VCU forced 11 Tribe turnovers in the opening period and went into the locker room with a 29-20 lead. The Tribe came out firing in the initial minutes of the second half and cut the Rams' margin to 35-34 on a jumper from Adam Duggins with 13:24 left to play. VCU then outscored William & Mary 17-6 over the next seven minutes to take a commanding 52-40 lead, and the Tribe never got closer to eight points down the rest of the way. William & Mary was led by senior Jim Moran, who compiled game highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds in defeat. Cody Carbaugh added 10 points for the Tribe, who shot just 41.2% from the field and committed 18 turnovers on the evening. VCU will begin a crucial three-game road stretch against some of the CAA's top teams, beginning with a showdown at George Mason (13-9, 8-3 CAA) on Wednesday in a battle for first place in the conference. The Rams will then travel to cross-town rival Richmond (16-5, 7-3 CAA) on Saturday, February 17 before concluding its road swing with a trip to defending CAA champion North Carolina Wilmington on February 21. "This stretch on the road is a huge challenge, but our guys are looking forward to it," muttered McCarthy. "I don't know if anyone has to play those three on the road back-to-back-to-back."