Rams roll past Grambling, 94-65 in Rhoades' VCU return (Nov 10, 2017)

By AP
Published

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Justin Tillman, Jonathan Williams and De'Riante Jenkins each scored 14 points and VCU made coach Mike Rhoades a winner in his debut with the Rams as they rolled over Grambling, 94-65 in the season opener Friday night.

The game marked the 100th consecutive sellout for VCU.

Rhoades, a former assistant coach and associate head coach under Shaka Smart at VCU, returns to the Rams after three seasons as head coach at Rice.

The Rams trailed 4-3 two minutes into the game, but pushed to a double-digit lead on Isaac Vann's layup with 12:48 left in the first half and pushed it to a 20-point advantage by halftime, 50-30.

VCU hit 34 of its 75 shots from the field and knocked down 15 of its 34 shots from distance. The Rams held a 49-35 advantage on the boards.

Diontae Jones had 16 points off the Grambling bench and Shirmane Thomas added 14.