VCU Athletics-Men's Basketball

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH OVERCOMES SLOW START FOR 78-61 WIN OVER NORTH CAROLINA A&T
12-30-99
Shaking off a sluggish first half, the Virginia Commonwealth men's basketball team caught fire in the final period to take a 78-61 victory over North Carolina A&T on Thursday night in the ALLTEL Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. The win was the fourth straight for the Rams, marking their longest winning streak since the 1996-97 season.

Virginia Commonwealth was paced by sophomore forward Shawn Hampton (Baltimore, Md.), who finished with 24 points and also led the Rams with eight rebounds. Hampton hit seven of his eight field goal attempts and has converted 30-of-35 attempts overall in Virginia Commonwealth's last four games. Also reaching double figures for the Rams were Bo Jones (Richmond, Va.), who scored 23 points, and Reggie Okosa (Claymont, Del.), who added 14. The Aggies were led by Bruce Jenkins, who was one of three North Carolina A&T player in double figures, as he put in 18 points.

Virginia Commonwealth took an early lead, but the Aggies responded, taking a 10-9 lead on two free throws by Jenkins. North Carolina A&T would lead by as many as 14 points when the Rams began to chip away at its deficit. Trailing 31-17, Virginia Commonwealth scored 11 straight points to trim the Aggies lead to three, 31-28, at halftime. The Rams converted just seven field goals in the opening period, their lowest output in one half this season.

In the second half, Virginia Commonwealth continued to pile it on, scoring 50 points on 20-of-32 shooting from the field (62.5 percent). Jones scored 15 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes, including seven in just under two minutes as the Rams built their lead from nine points at the 4:09 mark to 17 with 2:17 left to play in the game.

The come-from-behind win was the 12th for Virginia Commonwealth in two seasons under head coach Mack McCarthy, and improved the Rams' record to 7-4 on the season, while North Carolina A&T dropped to 1-7. Virginia Commonwealth will open conference play in its next contest, as the Rams play host to Old Dominion on Jan. 5. That game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start.

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