PETERSBURG, VA --The Virginia State men's basketball team got a 41-point performance from the bench, but fell 64-62 to the Shepherd Rams at home Friday.

The Trojans (0-1) had two players score in double figures, led by Brandon Hilliard, who had 13 points and two steals. William Hopkins added 11 points off the bench and Tim Uzochuwku added eight points and eight rebounds.

Led by Uzochuwku's four offensive rebounds, Virginia State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in five second chance points.

The Virginia State defense was a problem in Friday's game, forcing 18 Shepherd turnovers while committing 14. Those takeaways turned into 14 points on the offensive end of the floor. Jordan Lambert led the way individually for the Trojans with two steals.

How It Happened

After falling behind 18-13, Virginia State went on a 6-0 run with 11:06 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Lambert, to take a 19-18 lead. Shepherd then responded to tie things up at 30-30 heading into halftime. Virginia State took advantage of eight Shepherd turnovers in the period, and scoring eight points of those tunrovers.

Shepherd then snagged a 44-34 advantage before Virginia State responded by going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Hopkins' jumper, to shrink the deficit to 44-41 with 10:28 to go in the contest. The Trojans kept their comeback going, but Shepherd managed to hold on for the 64-62 win. Virginia State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 24 of its 32 total points.

Game Notes

» The Virginia State bench came alive by scoring 41 points to its scoring output.
» Brandon Hilliard and William Hopkins came off the bench to score 13 and 11 points, respectively.
» The Virginia State defense forced 18 turnovers.
» Virginia State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 11 offensive boards in the game.
» Brandon Hilliard led the Trojans with 13 points.
» Virginia State got a team-high eight rebounds from Tim Uzochuwku.

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.