COL BKB: Va. Commonwealth 68, St. Louis 56

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RICHMOND, Va., March 29 (UPI) -- Joey Rodriguez scored 22 points Monday to boost Virginia Commonwealth to a 68-56 decision over Saint Louis in the College Basketball Invitational Final.

Rodriguez was deadly from outside, going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, and dished off six assists while Larry Sanders added 20 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked four shots for the Rams (26-9), who won the first game of the best-of-three CBI.

A mid-range jumper by St. Louis' Willie Reed with 14 1/2 minutes left pulled Saint Louis to within 41-38. But VCU responded by scoring seven straight points and later pushed the lead to 16 points at 60-44 on a Darius Theus basket.

Reed led the Billikens (23-12) with 11 points while Kwamain Mitchell and Cody Ellis chipped in with 10 points apiece in the loss.