FGCU MBB @ VCU Recap

Sophomore Caleb Catto scored 14 points to lead the FGCU men's basketball team (1-5), but No. 19 VCU (5-0) proved too much on the defensive side of the ball in a 78-48 win over the Eagles on Saturday night at the Siegel Center. The Rams forced 27 turnovers which kept the Eagles offense out of sync for much of the night.

"They played about as we thought they would. We were able to hold them at bay for a bit early in the first half, but once they jumped on that big run, we could never get back into it. I have tremendous respect for Coach Rhoades and his staff and how they run their program," said head coach Michael Fly. "I told our team this was a growing experience and that the same year we went to the Sweet 16, we had a loss like this to VCU. A of times that year we referenced VCU and said these teams aren't better than VCU, that they won't pressure the same as VCU or that their fans aren't as raucous as VCU. We want to play teams like VCU which will help us grow while also helping reinforce the type of program we're trying to build here."

Catto set a career-high with four three pointers in the game to lead the Eagles (1-5). Junior Jalen Warren had seven points and five assists, while sophomore Zach Scott had a career-high eight rebounds.

The Rams were led by 16 points from Marcus Evans and 11 points from De'Riante Jenkins. Marcus Santos-Silva nearly had a double-double nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Statistically, the story of the game came down to the Rams turning 27 FGCU turnovers into 37 points. Between that and 19 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second chance points, VCU attempted 26 more shots than the Eagles for the game.

Overall, FGCU shot 19-of-50 (41%), while the Rams were 28-of-76 (30%) from the floor.

The Rams used a 10-to-0 run in the first half to open up a 16-2 lead at the 12:37 mark, but a Catto three-pointer 15 seconds later halted the home team momentum. Catto added two more triples after that as the Eagles cut the deficit to nine, 23-14, with 7:35 left before intermission.

The Rams strung together the 20-2 run, including 17 straight, after the Eagles cut the deficit to single digits and stretched its lead to 43-16 at the break.

VCU's pressure defense sparked much of its offense in the opening stanza as the Rams converted 16 FGCU turnovers into 22 points.

After Catto hit his fourth three-pointer of the night two minutes into the second half, the Rams scored 11 straight extending their lead to 56-21 at the 15:01 mark.

The Eagles continued to fight late in the game putting together a 13-to-1 run which cut the deficit to 21, 66-45, with 5:07 to go, but the Rams closed out the game scoring 12 of the last 15 points to give the final margin.

Up Next:
FGCU returns home to Alico Arena for the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic next week. The Eagles will host Florida Tech on Tuesday night (7 PM) before then hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.