VCU TOPS AMERICAN 71-61 box score Watch Willie Taylor soar for two High resolution (DSL-T1) Low resolution (56K-28.8) 02-03-01 RICHMOND, Va. - Four Virginia Commonwealth players put forth double-digit scoring efforts and the Rams held off a second-half charge to post a 71-61 victory over American in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball Saturday night at the ALLTEL Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. The Rams improved to 14-9 overall and 7-3 in CAA play and secured their grasp the all-important second-place spot in the conference race, one game behind CAA front-runner George Mason. The win was also VCU's ninth straight at the ALLTEL Pavilion and upped its mark to 10-1 in games on its home floor this season. The Rams were led offensively by their top two scorers, senior Bo Jones (Richmond, Va./Huguenot) and sophomore Willie Taylor's (Smyrna, Tenn./LaVergne), who each wound up with 16 points. Jones drained four of seven three-point attempts in the win, while Taylor scored 10 points after intermission to help thwart a second-half rally by the Eagles (6-16, 2-9 CAA). The Rams started fast and built a 27-16 lead with 7:21 remaining in the first half and took a 36-28 advantage into the break. American regrouped and outscored VCU9-2 to start the second stanza, and cut the Rams' margin to 38-37 on a layup by junior Patrick Doctor with 15:25 left to play. VCU then reeled off nine consecutive points, seven by senior LaMar Taylor (Richmond, Va./John Marshall), to go up 47-37 with 12:16 left in the game. The Eagles again answered and got to within three points (56-53) with three minutes to play, but a 10-1 VCU run, keyed by two three-pointers from Willie Taylor, gave the Rams a comfortable 66-54 lead heading into the final minute. "Willie came to the bench (in the first half)and asked what was wrong with his shot," said VCU head coach Mack McCarthy of his star forward, who missed his first four field-goal attempts. "I told him to drive it to the hole, and he goes in an nails two three-pointers. (American) played a box-and-one on Bo and took him away, and Willie stepped up." VCU also received another strong perfomance from senior center L.F. Likcholitov (St. Petersburg, Russia/St. Petersburg Tech. Univ.), who compiled 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds, while LaMar Taylor finished with 12 points in the win. American, which suffered its eighth straight defeat, was led by Doctor's game-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. "I thought it was a fairly solid effort", said McCarthy. "We had people step up defensively, especially on the defensive glass. We did a nice job preventing second chances." VCU will again play at home this Thursday, when the Rams host William & Mary (8-13, 5-6 CAA) at 7:30 p.m.