RICHMOND, Va. – VCU went on an 11-2 run over the final three minutes of the first half and used a high-pressure defensive effort to take a 69-57 win over Gardner-Webb Tuesday night in both teams' season opener.
 
Gardner-Webb (0-1) found itself down 38-22 at the half, but battled back to trim the lead to single digits midway through the second half. VCU (1-0) kept the Runnin' Bulldogs off balance the rest of the way, hounding the visitors with its hallmark pressure defense to pull out the win.
 
Jose Perez scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench for Gardner-Webb in his college debut, knocking down 5-of-9 shots in the game. David Efianayi added 14 points and DJ Laster came alive in the second half to finish with 12 points for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
 
Neither team scored a field goal until Gardner-Webb got a layup from Christian Turner at the 17:29 mark in the first half to put the Runnin' Bulldogs up 2-1. Perez put the 'Dogs up 7-3 with a driving layup with 14:24 remaining before the half, but the Rams continued to apply pressure and eventually heated up from long range.
 
A 9-0 run put VCU up for good, although Gardner-Webb trailed by just one at the half's midway point after an Efianayi trey. The Rams slowly started to build a lead, going up 27-18 on a pair of free throws with 4:04 remaining.
 
Perez drove in again for a layup with 3:51 remaining in the half to trim the lead to 27-20, but VCU responded with its game-changing run. The Rams drained a trio of three-point shots during the rally and extended its lead to 38-22 at the half.
 
Gardner-Webb shot just 38.5 percent for the game (20-of-52), made 12-of-20 free throws (60.0 percent) and knocked down only 5-of-15 from long range (31.3 percent). Those numbers improved in the second half, but 21 turnovers – and 23 VCU points off those miscues – proved to be the difference in the game.
 
VCU shot 42.4 percent from the floor itself (25-of-59), made 7-of-23 from deep (30.4 percent) and found itself hampered by 20 turnovers in the game. Gardner-Webb was able to score 14 points off the Rams' miscues, but it was not enough.
 
VCU was paced by 16 points from Isaac Vann and 12 points from Mike'L Simms. Rice transfer Marcus Evans came off the bench to score nine points in his VCU debut.
 
Gardner-Webb will head back to the Commonwealth on Friday, traveling to face Virginia Tech at 7:00 pm in Blacksburg, Va.