The Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic is the annual basketball game between the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. The 2010 contest will be held at Richmond’s Robins Center and will benefit Holiday Cheer and Gear – a program that collects new sporting goods to benefit The Salvation Army.
For a while, it looked like the five-game winning streak that the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball program had over its cross-town rival the University of Richmond would come to an end. But, the Rams exploded for 45 second-half points, after scoring just 20 in the first half, en route to another victory in the Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic, 65-57.
“That was a great college basketball game,” Head Coach Shaka Smart said. “It was really a tale of two halves. I thought our guys really became aggressive and were able to institute our game plan coming out of halftime.”
VCU’s T.J. Gwynn led all scorers with 20 points, while Larry Sanders chipped in his fourth straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while also blocking five shots on the evening. Richmond guards David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson combined for 22 first-half points and controlled the pace of play to help the Spiders hold a 27-15 lead with 3:27 left before halftime.
But, Gwynn would set the tone for the second half with five quick points to give VCU momentum heading into the break. The VCU lead would dwindle to five within two minutes before Terrance Saintil came in the game to ignite a 13-2 run. A nice pass by Saintil to Bradford Burgess for a slam, capped off the spurt and gave VCU a 39-33 advantage. Richmond would not go away thanks to Anderson and Gonzalvez as the two teams traded leads back and forth before VCU’s Brandon Rozzell connected on two three-pointers to put the game away.
Saintil finished with a career-high seven points and Rozzell added nine in the win for the Rams. Gonzalvez led the Spiders with 19 points, while Anderson finished with 18 and three assists. Dan Geriot was the third Spider in double-figures with 11 points.
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