Rams suffer disappointing loss

VCU had five players score in double figures on Saturday, but it still wasn’t enough to contain Bradley in a 73-64 loss. The Rams played before a packed house at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in a nationally televised game covered by ESPN2.

The Score

VCU 64
BRADLEY 73

VCU and Bradley played an exciting up and down first half where neither team was really able to maintain a solid rhythm. Bradley’s Jeremy Crouch proved to be the difference throughout the game. He nailed four 3-pointers before eight minutes had passed in the first half. After his fourth 3-pointer gave Bradley a 14-11 lead with 12:43 left in the first half, senior Jesse Pellot-Rosa (Richmond, Va./George Wythe) went on his own 6-0 run, inside of a VCU 11-0 run, by hitting two 3-pointers in a span of 24 seconds with 9:11 remaining to help extend the lead to eight points at 22-14. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

The Rams’ lead grew to as big as 10 points in the first half at 28-18 by another 3-pointer by Pellot-Rosa. The Rams held an eight point lead numerous times throughout the first half, but ill-advised shots and untimely turnovers helped the Braves remain in the game.

Inside the numbers

BRADLEY (19-10): Andrews 12, Franklin 11, Tauai 3, Crouch 22, Ruffin 19, Salley 6, Warren 0, Adams 0. Totals: 24 14-21 73. 3-pointers: Crouch 6, Ruffin 4, Franklin.

VCU (22-6): Fameni 0, Anderson 11, Maynor 4, Pellot-Rosa 14, Walker 12, Coward 0, Shuler 11, Roland 2, Gwynn 10. Totals: 27 3-8 64. 3-pointers: Pellot-Rosa 4, Walker 2, Shuler.

VCU then went on a scoring drought, only scoring four points in a span of over six minutes, not scoring again until the half was almost over. The Braves used this drought to go a 16-4 run to reclaim the lead at 34-32 with 27 seconds left.

Freshman T.J Gywnn (Burlington, N.C./ Cummings) had a 3-point play with 8.7 seconds that gave VCU a 35-34 halftime lead. He finished with 10 of VCU’s 23 bench points and provided six rebounds.

Bradley was able to pressure point guard Eric Maynor (Fayetteville, N.C./ Westover), into taking poor shots. Maynor didn’t score his first basket until midway through the second half, finishing with four points. Bradley was able to take advantage of their outside shooting and inside post presence to take the decisive lead.

B.A. Walker ‘s (Onancock, Va./Nandua) 12 points moved him from 12th to 11th on VCU’s all time scoring list. Juniors Jamal Shuler (Jacksonville, N.C./Jacksonville) and Michael Anderson (Virginia Beach, Va./ Landstown) added 11 points each for VCU.

“I didn’t feel that if we won that we would be in or that if we lost that would be out,” said VCU head coach Anthony Grant in reference to the Rams trying to secure an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament in case they don’t win the conference tournament. Beating Bradley would have solidified the Rams as a legitimate at-large team even coming from a mid-major conference such as the Colonial Athletic Association.

With the loss, VCU is 14-2 in the CAA and 22-6 overall. The Rams return to action on Wednesday, senior night, against James Madison.