Clearly the stronger, quicker and more talented team, VCU had little issue holding Richmond at arm's length for most of Tuesday night's game.

The Spiders, though, put a brief scare into the Siegel Center crowd in the final minutes, before Rams guard Terrence Hill Jr. swatted them away for good in the final minute of a 77-69 victory.

So it has gone this season for VCU, which is in the middle of a season most other schools in the Atlantic 10 would love. The Rams are 15-6 overall, and 6-2 in conference play, with no bad losses and a handful of good wins.

But VCU isn't most other schools, and after making a hefty offseason investment in the program and Coach Phil Martelli Jr., expectations include making the NCAA tournament.

It's a goal that is still very much within reach, but to get there, the Rams will have to find a way to play their best basketball in the crucial months of February and March.

Martelli alluded to the challenge on Monday, noting that almost nobody on the team knew each other before this year's team was assembled.

"We knew that as a staff going in, that we're not going to be a finished product in November, December for January," he said. "And you know, I think at some point in February (we will), but who knows?

"Every group is so different and you're constantly tending to that. Like, all right, who needs what attention? Who needs what growth? As a group, what do we need for that growth?"

VCU's two conference losses were to two of the top teams, Saint Louis and George Mason, but in both the Rams were unable to make plays down the stretch.

Tuesday looked to be an uneventful romp over Richmond (13-9, 3-6), which has some strong shooters and always plays an efficient team game under Coach Chris Mooney, but is in a different weight class as the Rams.

But as is often the case in the rivalry matchup, the Spiders wouldn't go away quietly.

A pair of local players, Jaden Daughtry (L.C. Bird) and Aiden Argabright (John Marshall), scored baskets for Richmond to cut VCU's lead to just four points with a minute remaining.

Off a VCU timeout, the Rams needed to call another timeout when they couldn't inbound the ball. The shot they ultimately got wasn't a masterpiece, but Hill banked it off the backboard and in, ending the late threat.

Hill is one of a handful of mega-talented Rams players. Coming off the bench, he tied Lazar Djokovic for the team lead in points with 14.

Djokovic said the Rams have been building chemistry throughout the season, and will continue to in the coming weeks.

"On defense we're connected," he said. "We're meeting outside the team meetings and stuff as players, so I feel like our connection and chemistry is really high up, and we're starting to trust each other more, which is huge on both ends of the court."

VCU hasn't struggled from a lack of playmakers, but rather an inability to predict where the day's big game will come from.

On Tuesday, Jadrian Tracey scored 11 points, getting his momentum back after a sluggish stretch.

"I mean, I've been on teams where we lost seven in a row, and you're playing bad, so that's much worse," Tracey said. "As long as we're winning, man, I really ain't got much to say. I could say that selfishly I want to play better, but selfish don't get the job done.

"We're waiting for a game where we all play good – where we're all clicking on both sides of the ball and just letting it happen."

That's Martelli's aim, too, as he juggles lineups and tries to figure out the winning formula for the Rams.

Djokovic acknowledged that the win was nice, but the Rams are hoping to produce more dominant showings down the stretch.

"I still feel like we should have won this game by 20 or 30 points," he said. "That's no disrespect to Richmond. I just feel like we're playing really good."

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org. VCU is a sponsor of The Richmonder, but did not influence or review this story.