RICHMOND, VA – Wil Fameni and Jamal Shuler combined for 42 points as host Virginia Commonwealth spoiled the University of Delaware’s Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball opener Wednesday night with a 79-60 victory at the Siegel Center.

Delaware, still looking for its first win for rookie head coach Monté Ross and coming off a 14-day layoff for exams, fell to 0-8 (0-1 CAA) for the first time since opening the season 0-12 in 1929-30 and extended its losing streak to nine games since for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign.

Despite the loss, the Hens got a big effort from junior Herb Courtney (at right) who poured in 25 points, including three three-pointers, and pulled five rebounds. Zaire Taylor added 12 points for his fourth straight double-figure outing, Calvin Cannon came off the bench to add 10 points, and Sam McMahon pulled a team-high eight rebounds to lead the Delaware effort.

Fameni recorded season-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds, Shuler added 19 points, including five three-pointers, and B.A. Walker deposited 13 points as Virginia Commonwealth (9-2, 1-0 CAA) won its seventh straight game. Eric Maynor added seven points and dished out a game-high seven assists for VCU. VCU, ranked No. 22 in this week’s College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, downed the Hens for the eighth straight time and remained unbeaten in give meetings vs. Delaware at the Siegel Center

“We were very surprised by their press in the first half but we made some adjustments and did a better job of getting the ball over halfcourt and into our offense in the second half,” said Ross. “Our guys did a great job of bouncing back in the second half and doing what we wanted to do on offense. We were down eight in the second half and had two great shots but they didn’t go down.”

Delaware, which entered the game averaging just 12.7 turnovers per game, had 13 in the first half and 19 for the game as the Rams put constant pressure on the Blue Hens. VCU committed just eight turnovers itself and held a slim 32-29 rebounding advantage. The Hens shot well from the field, hitting 24 of 52 shots (46.2 percent) from the field and 6 of 13 from beyond the three-point line, but were outscored 18-6 at the foul line.

It was a tough start for the Blue Hens, who fell behind 9-0 in the first five minutes as they missed their first six shots and turned the ball over three times in their first nine possession. But thanks to the hot-shooting of Courtney, Delaware scored eight straight to cut the lead to one at 9-8. But the Hens never got closer the rest of the night . VCU used a 15-2 run to increase its lead to 30-14 and took a 39-23 advantage into the break.

Delaware battled back in the second half and cut the lead to eight twice but could never get closer. The Hens used a 12-4 run to cut the VCU lead to 45-37 on a Cannon jumper with 14:53 left and later pulled to within 47-38 at the 12:26 mark, but the Rams countered by scoring five straight points and the Hens never seriously threatened again.

The Blue Hens will look to get into the win column Saturday when they travel to non-league foe UNC Greensboro for a 2 p.m. start.

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