Williamsburg - The William and Mary men's basketball team lost 70-52 to neighboring CAA rival VCU Wednesday night at Kaplan Arena. After a turnover-plagued first-half, W&M managed to cut a nine-point VCU halftime lead to three on multiple occasions early in the second half, however, the Rams answered with a 12-2 run highlighted by freshman reserve Rob Brandenberg to put the game out of reach. W&M fell to 4-12 overall and 0-5 in league play, while VCU improved to 12-5 on the season and 4-1 in CAA action.

Senior forward Marcus Kitts paced the Tribe with his second double-double performance of the season and the third of his career. The Holly Springs, N.C., native finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Junior forward Quinn McDowell poured in 10 points, including two 3-pointers, while pulling down four rebounds. Freshman Tim Rusthoven finished with nine points, including a 5-of-6 effort from the free throw line, and sophomore guard Matt Rum knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for six points.

Trailing by nine at the intermission, the Tribe got off to a roaring start in the second half. Rum brought the home fans to their feet 48 seconds into the second half by connecting from beyond the arc. Rum hit freshman guard Brandon Britt with a beautiful pass for a layup, which cut the Rams lead to four, 30-26, with less than two minutes into the second frame.

W&M pulled to within three, 33-30, with 16:42 left in the contest following back-to-back lay-ups from Kitts. The VCU lead was still just three, 35-32, a minute later following a McDowell lay-up. The Tribe had possession out of the first media timeout after a Kendrix Brown defensive rebound, but a W&M turnover started a 12-2 Ram run.

Brandenberg highlighted the Ram run scoring 10 of VCU's 12 points on the spurt. He started things off with a 3-pointer off an inside-out pass from Jamie Skeen at the 15-minute mark. A Joey Rodriguez lay-up pushed the Ram lead to eight, 40-32, a minute later.

Brown drove the right baseline for a two-handed dunk for the Green and Gold to cut the margin to 40-34 with 13:28 to play, but Brandenberg answered right back with seven straight points. He connected on another 3-pointer off a Skeen pass, before VCU's press caused a Tribe turnover that resulted in a Brandenberg layup. The VCU rookie capped the spurt driving to the right side of the lane for a short jumper to give the Rams a 47-34 lead with 11:18 remaining.

The Tribe chipped into the Ram lead again, reducing the deficit to eight, 50-42, following a JohnMark Ludwick 3-pointer with 8:35 left to play, but the Rams bounced back with eight straight points in less than a minute to put the game away. After a Jamie Skeen conventional 3-point play widened the Ram lead back to double-digits, the Rams pressure struck again. Rodriguez knocked down a 3 pointer off his own steal, before hitting on a pair of free throws at 7:41 mark to put the Rams on top 58-42. The Tribe could get 13 points the rest of the way.

For the game the Tribe shot 47.4 percent (18-of-38) from the field and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the free throw line. The Tribe's bench provided 21 key points in the contest led by Rusthoven's nine in 17 minutes of action. The Rams connected on 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the field, but were dangerous from 3-point range, hitting 11 from long distance.

The VCU pressure was too much early for the Tribe as the Rams scored the first nine points of the game, forcing W&M into three turnovers in the opening three minutes. A fastbreak lay-up from Bradford Burgess off a Darius Theus steal and dish put the Rams up 9-0 at the 17:11 mark.

Kitts ended the Tribe's scoring drought with a two-handed jam off a dish from Matt Rum at the 14:03 mark. VCU's first-half lead reached as many as 14, 20-6, following Skeen's sixth 3-pointer of the season at the 7:38 mark. However, a stingy Tribe defense limited VCU to just one point over the final three minutes of the half. The Green and Gold countered offensively with a 3-pointer from Rum and a jumper from sophomore Kyle Gaillard cut the deficit to 29-20 at the half.

VCU placed three players in double digits. Brandenberg led all scorers with 22 points, connecting on four 3 pointers. Skeen's double-double performance consisted of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Rodriguez rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points. VCU's pressure accounted for 25 points off 19 Tribe turnovers.

The Tribe concludes its three game home stand when it welcomes the Drexel Dragons to Kaplan Arena on Saturday Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. Tribe fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald, and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg is the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network. The lived audio as well as live stats will be available at TribeAthletics.com. Fans can also purchase the live video feed at the home of W&M sports.