Led by Max Shulga's 19 points, the VCU Rams defeated the Bellarmine Knights 84-65 on Monday night

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Max Shulga's 19 points helped VCU defeat Bellarmine 84-65 on Monday night in a season opener.

Shulga had five rebounds and five assists for the Rams. Joe Bamisile went 8 of 14 from the field (2 for 7 from 3-point range) to add 18 points. Phillip Russell had 16 points and shot 5 for 10, including 5 for 9 from beyond the arc.

Dezmond McKinney and Ben Johnson each scored 15 points for Bellarmine. Jack Karasinski also had 11 points.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.