MEN’S BASKETBALL- Rams celebrate Homecoming with lopsided win over Tigers

The Rams, who led the Colonial Athletic Association
in the most defensive categories, outdid themselves in
a 65-42 win over Towson for Homecoming in front of
the season’s third sellout crowd Saturday at the Stuart
C. Siegel Center.

Towson was held to its lowest point total of the
season, and VCU lowered its league-leading scoring
defense to 58.5 points per game. The Rams have held
an opponent under 50 points six times this season.

The Tigers were 14 of 55 (25.5 percent) from the
field in the game, including 4 of 17 (23.5 percent)
from the 3-point range. The Rams’ Dec. 30, 2005,
game against Hampton was the last time the Rams
held an opponent to a lower shooting percentage
from the field.

“We knew it would be a challenge to guard the
(3-pointers), along with the way their front court had
been playing,” head coach Anthony Grant said. “I’m
really proud of the way we defended.”

VCU started strong offensively. Junior Eric Maynor
(Raeford, N.C./Westover) lobbed a pass to senior Jamal
Shuler (Jacksonville, N.C./Jacksonville) for a dunk, then
stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made a 3-pointer,
resulting in a Towson time out.

The Rams jumped to a 13-7 lead, but the Tigers
remained within striking distance and gave the Rams
trouble. Although VCU won both match-ups with
Towson last season, one went to double-overtime, and
the average margin of victory was only six points.

Tony Durant hit a jumper for 2 of his 6 points to tie
the game at 19 with 3:28 remaining in the first half.

The Rams held the Tigers scoreless for the next
7:13 and grabbed control of the game with a 22-2
burst. Towson, like most other schools VCU faces,
was inexperienced against the Rams’ style of pressure
defense and did not find an answer in 40 minutes of
regulation.

Lance Kearse (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers) has
emerged as another scoring threat. The freshman scored
11 points to match Maynor and fellow freshman Larry
Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) for the team
high and added five rebounds.

“I feel a little bit more mature, and I just feel like I
know what I’m doing out there now,” Kearse said.

Coach Grant agreed with Kearse.

“With every game, he gets more confi-
dence as he goes out there and plays. He’s
got an ability to make shots,” Grant said.
“His teammates did a great job of getting
him some open looks the way the defense
was collapsing on certain areas.”

The Tigers entered the game with the
best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference
but committed 19 turnovers and had
just nine assists Saturday. Freshman Joey
Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell)
forced a season-high seven steals.

Sanders made his 13th start of the
season and contributed at both ends of
the floor with 11 points, eight rebounds
and seven blocks.

“He does a great job of being that
eraser inside for us and erasing mistakes
that we make on the perimeter,” Grant
said. “I thought he did a great job on the
glass and was aggressive tonight from an
offensive standpoint going to the rim.”

The 23 points the Rams won with
were equal to the largest lead the team
had during the game.

VCU maintains a one-game conference
lead over George Mason after the Patriots’
72-46 win over James Madison. The Rams
are 9-2 in the conference, 16-5 overall,
10-0 at home and 13-1 in the all-time
series against the Tigers. VCU next plays
Wednesday at Georgia State and Saturday
at Delaware.

—

By the numbers:

Towson (5-6 CAA, 9-12): Hairston 6,
Pease 5, Durant 6, Williams 2, Thornton 13,
Crossin 2, Coleman 2, Carr 4, Kannegieter
2, Nwankwo 0, Raboin 0. Totals: 14 10-12
42. 3-pointers: Pease, Thornton 3.

VCU (9-2, 16-5): Sanders 11, Anderson 8,
Maynor 11, Rodriguez 5, Shuler 7, Smith
0, Rozzell 5, Pishchalnikov 0, Ndongo 0,
Kearse 11, Brown 3, Gwynn 4, Nixon 0.
Totals 25 7-11 65. 3-pointers: Anderson 2,
Maynor, Rodriguez, Shuler, Rozzell, Kearse,
Brown.

—

MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
games team conference overall back streak

VCU 9-2 16-5 – W1

George Mason 8-3 16-6 1 W2

William & Mary 8-3 12-9 1 W2

UNC Wilmington 7-4 14-9 2 L1

Old Dominion 6-5 11-2 3 W1

Delaware 6-5 9-12 3 L3

Northeastern 5-6 9-12 4 W2

Towson 5-6 9-12 4 W1

Hofstra 4-7 7-14 5 W1

James Madison 3-8 10-11 6 L6

Georgia State 3-8 6-15 6 L1

Drexel 2-9 9-14 7 L5