The Ryan Odom era officially began tonight as the VCU Rams fell to the McNeese State Cowboys 76-65. Odom, who was the coach at Utah State where the Aggies (26-9 record) were ranked 16th in offensive production last year. Odom also was the head coach of UMBC when his 16th-seeded team beat the #1 seed UVA in 2018
NCAA Tournament. McNeese State is led by Coach Will Wade ( Served as VCU assistant HC from 2009-2013 & as Head Coach from 2015-2017), who is currently serving a 10-game suspension. Brandon Chambers (2011 VCU Graduate) served as interim coach in the season opener vs the Rams.
The Rams got on the board 1st as Max Shulga hit a 3-pointer,39 seconds into the game. The Rams took an early lead but, the Cowboys took their 1st lead (8-6, 15:22 1st half), which was part of a 12-0 run that ended as Max Shulga scored to cut the Cowboys lead to 4 (13-9 14:17 1st half). The Cowboys had their most significant lead (41-21: 2:21 remaining in the first half). The Rams ended the half on an 8-0 run to cut the Cowboys lead to 12 (41-29).
Max Shulga's 3-pointer to start the 2nd half continued their run (11-0). With 15:01 remaining in the game the Rams cut the lead to 8 points (48-59). Cowboys answered back and countered the runs as they kept a double-digit lead for most of the 2nd half. The Rams had 2 scoring droughts (Both were over two minutes) while the Cowboys sustained their lead. The Rams ended their scoring woes as they went on a 6-0 run with 3:50 remaining to cut the lead to 10 (54-64). Alphonzo “Fats” Billups III sank a 3-pointer with 1:58 left to cut the Cowboys lead to 7. The Cowboys countered and held their lead as they won 76-65
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Player of the game
MAX SHULGA
22 Points 4 Assists 2 Rebound
By the Numbers
1: 1st Meeting between both schools
17: Amount of Bench points scored by the Rams
22: Points Scored by Rams Guard Max Shulga
23: Points Scored by Cowboys Guard Shahada Wells (lead Team)
30.6 %: Rams Shooting Percentage behind the Arc
7,637: Game attendance for tonight’s game (7th straight sellout)
At the Podium
After Tonight's loss, we spoke with Max Shulga and Head Coach Ryan Odom
What’s next
The Rams will return to the STU on Friday as they face off vs Samford. The tipoff is 7 pm.
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