Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - VCU pounded the offensive glass in the first half, jumped out to a comfortable lead and handed suddenly-reeling Saint Louis its first road loss of the year.
Treveon Graham had 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals and the Rams defeated the 10th-ranked Billikens, 67-56, on Saturday night.
VCU held an 11-1 margin in offensive rebounds and a 13-0 spread in second- chance points in the first half.
Briante Weber tallied 13 points and five boards for the Rams (22-7, 10-4 A-10), who responded from a 1-3 stretch by winning two in a row.
Saint Louis (25-4, 12-2) has dropped back-to-back games on the heels of a 19- game winning streak. The Billikens lost their first A-10 game of the season Thursday against lowly Duquesne.
Jordair Jett supplied 18 points and five rebounds in defeat.
After Grandy Glaze's layup pulled Saint Louis within 10-9 early, VCU outscored the Billikens 12-6 over the next four minutes. The Rams grabbed three offensive rebounds during the sequence, including a pair by Jarred Guest before his three-point play tip-in staked the hosts to a 22-15 advantage midway through the frame.
The margin reached 15 before VCU settled for a 38-28 cushion at the break.
Back-to-back Austin McBroom jumpers cut the Saint Louis gap to 44-37 with 11:07 left, but Graham netted the final two baskets during a 7-2 spurt, including a 3-pointer to cap it and increase the lead to 51-39.
VCU was never seriously threatened down the stretch.
Game Notes
The Rams forced 12 steals and finished with a 16-10 margin in offensive rebounds ... VCU shot just 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the floor and 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from beyond the arc.
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