In what was an explosive offensive performance, the Rams defeated the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University 106-61 Sunday afternoon at the Butcher Center.
The Rams were lethal in their offensive execution, whether it was from three-point territory or inside the paint. Making 16 three-pointers and scoring 44 points in the paint provided no chance for the Yellow Jackets to get back into the game. They simply had no answers defensively for the Rams, who came out on fire from the beginning.
What also hurt the Yellow Jackets was their ball handling. The Rams’ defense made them turn the ball over 17 times, to the tune of 28 points. It was bad enough for the Yellow Jackets that their defense could not stop the Rams, but any chance of a comeback attempt ended when they began to turn the ball over.
For the game, the Rams made 41 field goals and shot 53.9 percent, not to mention their stellar 16-of-29 performance from three-point territory. Junior guards Skylar Roman and Steffen Davis of the Rams each piled on 25 and 24 points, respectively, to lead the Rams in scoring. Roman was also able to find his open teammates as well, dishing out a game-best six assists. Junior forward AJ Carr also assisted in the scoring onslaught with his 15 points. Senior guard Naim Muhammad also had a solid performance with 13 points.
West Virginia State was not able to match the Rams’ offensive display. Shooting just 31 percent from the game, including going 8-of-30 from three-point territory was not near enough to keep them level with the Rams.
Ernest Jenkins and Terrance Jenkins did provided a nice spark, however, for the Yellow Jackets, with each of them posting 11 points. Teammate Jahlen Green also had nice contributions with his 10 points.
Despite the large gap in the victory, the Rams only won the rebounding battle 45-39, showing the Yellow Jackets’ level of fight throughout the game.
The Rams hit the hardwood again looking to build off this performance when they face the University of Charleston at 7:30 p.m. at home Tuesday evening.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu
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