Rams can’t crack Monarchs at the Ted

It wasn’t a 16-point game, ODU head coach Blaine Taylor insisted about his squad’s 79-63 home win.

As for those last three points, a 40-foot buzzer trey by Brandon Johnson long after Eric Maynor (Fayetteville, N.C./Westover) had stopped guarding him?

“I don’t think he meant anything by that,” Taylor said, exasperated. “I was wishing it not to go in. I wish he’d thrown it into the student section.”

ODU extended their win streak to seven games with Saturday’s emotional and physical noon game.

“Every time we play VCU it’s physical. It’s physical and fun,” said leading scorer Arnaud Dahi, who had 19 points and seven rebounds in the latest clash of rivals.

The Rams struggled with foul trouble and unusually poor shooting. With a mix of zone and man defense by the Monarchs, the Rams shot only 30 percent. ODU especially stymied Jesse Pellot-Rosa (Richmond, Va./George Wythe), who played only 10 minutes and shot 1-for-8, fouling out to the crowd’s delight. Maynor scored a game-high 17 points for the Rams.

VCU (13-2 CAA, 21-5): Fameni 9, Anderson 8, Maynor 17, Walker 13, Pellot-Rosa 3, Coward 0, Shuler 9, Roland 0, Gwynn 4. Totals: 20 14-20 63. 3-pointers: Maynor 3, Walker 3, Shuler 3.

ODU (12-3 CAA, 19-7): Dahi 19, Vasylius 16, Johnson 8, Williamson 15, Henderson 10, Lidonde 6, Lee 0, Neely 0, Harris 0, Adams 5. Totals: 23 25-34 79. 3-pointers: Johnson 2, Henderson 2, Lidonde 2, Adams, Williamson.

B.A. Walker (Onancock, Va./Nandua) threw in a three-pointer to start the game, which remained close the entire first half. The Rams ran up their largest lead, six points, on a three-pointer by Jamal Shuler (Jacksonville, N.C./Jacksonville) with 11 minutes remaining. But they didn’t make a field goal for the last three minutes, giving ODU a 34-28 edge going into the locker rooms.

The Rams moved to control the pace in the second half, but ODU dealt with the press. With 13-minutes left, a 50-second streak with eight fouls – six by VCU – left the Rams with less steam. They built a two-point lead with nine minutes left, but missed shots and kept the Monarchs on the free-throw line at the end of the game. They made 11 of 14 on the charity stripe, before Johnson capped it off with his long shot to the delight of (most of) the 8,424 fans in attendance.

“We let them slip by,” Rams head coach Anthony Grant said following the game. “It was a very well-played college basketball game.”

Wednesday, VCU faces Georgia State; ODU travels for their second game against Hostra, who beat them in Norfolk.

“It’s luck of the draw. Some years, somebody’s going to have an easier time,” Taylor said of the unbalanced CAA schedule.