RICHMOND, Va. | The Donte' Jackson era has begun at Grambling State University as the Tiger men's basketball program opened the season on Friday night with a 94-65 loss to VCU at E.J. Wade Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
 
Grambling State (0-1) shot nearly 38 percent (22-of-58) from the floor and was 2-of-13 from behind the arc against VCU. The Rams shot 45.3 percent (34-of-75) and benefited from 15 3-pointers to grab the victory.
 
Diontae Jones came off the bench to spark the Tigers with a career-high 16 points, on 6-of-10 shooting, and pulled down a career-high eight boards in 21 minutes of action. Shirmane Thomas registered 14 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, and seven rebounds, while Anthony Gaston tallied a career-high 11 points, including going 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
 
De'Riante Jenkins, Justin Tillman and Jonathan Williams each finished with 14 points to pace the Rams offense. Khris Lane chipped in with 11, while Malik Crowfield added 10. Tillman led the way defensively with a game-high 10 boards, while Williams dished out a game-high five assists.
 
Turning Point
Grambling State fell behind early and couldn't recover in the road loss.
 
The Tigers led 4-3 after a bucket by Axel Mpoyo with 18:05 remaining in the first half, but the Rams answered and used a 21-4 run over the next eight minutes to grab a 24-8 advantage after De'Riante Jenkins layup with 9:43 left in the first.
 
Grambling State cut the margin to 30-20 after a pair of free throws by Bobby Jackson with 5:24 left, but that was as close as the Tigers would get as VCU (1-0) closed out the half on a 20-10 run to take a 50-30 advantage into the half.
 
Inside The Numbers
* Ivy Smith, Jr. led Grambling State with a game-high six assists and added eight points, with four of those points coming at the foul line.
* Grambling State shot 22-of-58 (37.9 percent) from the field and 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) from the free-throw line.
* VCU was 34-of-75 shooting for 45.3 percent, 15-of-34 (44.1 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Tigers were out-rebounded, 49-35, and finished with 12 turnovers.
* Grambling State tallied 25 bench points, 12 points off turnovers and nine second-chance points.
* The Rams finished with 31 bench points, 15 points off turnovers and 13 second-chance points.
* There were three lead changes and one tie.
 
News & Notes
* Dionte Jones' previous career high for points came Jan. 16, 2017 when he poured in 13 points against Prairie View A&M, and his previous career high for rebounds was six against Selma College (Dec. 9, 2016).
* This was the first meeting between the two schools as VCU came into the contest with a 4-0 record against schools from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
* Friday's season opener was the first of seven straight road games before the Tigers play host to Tougaloo College (Dec. 4).
 
Up Next
Grambling State returns to action on Thursday, Nov. 16 in Iowa City, Iowa as the Tigers take on Big 10 member Iowa in the Cayman Islands Classic Preliminary Game. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. from the Carver-Hawkeye Arena and can be seen live on the Big Network+.
 
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathetics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.