Instant Replay

VCU forward Nick George and his teammates have been dying for a rematch with Wake Forest since the people in Bracketville set up the Preseason National Invitational Tournament with the two teams just a game apart.

They’ll get that shot on Thursday night in the tournament’s second round, but they had to put the brakes on American gunner Andre Ingram to get it.

Ingram, the Eagles’ off guard who made a name for himself just a few miles away at Highland Springs High School, scored 38 points, including a runner to send the game into overtime.

But the Rams used timely defense plus George’s 24 points-all in the second half and overtime-to spoil Ingram’s homecoming and win their fourth straight home opener at the Alltel Pavilion, 82-76.

“We’re fortunate to get out of here with a win, ” said Rams head coach Jeff Capel, who won his 42nd game as a Division-I head coach.

The Rams found out late that day projected starter Michael Doles, who averaged 11 points off the bench last season, would sit out because of mononucleosis.

To add to that loss of scoring power, VCU had to figure out what to do about the Eagles’ Ingram, who came out like a lit match in the first half.

The 6-foot-3 guard drained his first four shots-trey balls from both corners, another from the wing plus a lay-up-and personally dug a 12-point hole for the Rams at the end of the first half.

VCU fell right on in by making just nine of their 26 shots in the period–two of nine from beyond the lengthened three-point line.

“But you knew they had a run in them,” said Ingram, who almost stopped every rally on his own.

The Rams were down by as much as 17 in the first half, but Capel said he never thought they were out of it.

“Loser’s think that way,” Capel said. “We think that we’re going to turn it around. We’re going to start making baskets.”

They did.

But when VCU point guard B.A. Walker, who quietly scored a team high 27 points, made a mid-range jumper to cut the Eagles lead to four points. Ingram came right back down on the other end and pulled up over Walker to hit a baseline J.

Or when George, who missed all of his shots in the first half, scored eight points during VCU’s 15-4 second-half run, including an up-and-under move that tied the game at 44.

Ingram pulled a three pointer from the wing in front of his head coach Jeff Jones that bounced off the front of the rim before falling.

And finally when George hit a catch-and-shoot three to give the Rams a 66-64 lead with the clock ticking down from 11.1 seconds. Ingram took the inbound pass, streaked down the sideline until he was about five feet out and sent the game into overtime by hitting a running bank shot.

B.A. Walker’s 10 points in overtime was the only thing that cooled down Ingram, who only took one shot in the extra period.

“We tried throwing different guys at him, and to be honest with you none of them really worked. He’s a phenomenal player.”

The Rams have to deal with another strong guard Thursday night in Winston-Salem. Preseason All-American point guard Chris Paul scored 25 points and dished out six assists in the Demon Deacons 97-76 win over George Washington. He had 22 points and seven assists last year when Wake edged VCU 79-78 in the first round of the CAA tournament.

This time around, Capel said, “We’re a different team. They’re kind of the same. They haven’t lost anybody. We lost two really, really good players.”

George, one of the teams returning leaders, had 16 points and six rebounds against Wake in last year’s game, and said he’s willing to do anything to win this year.

“It felt terrible to lose to them the first time,” George said. “Now that we have another shot we’re going to go at them just like we did the first time. This time we want a victory.”