Rams outlast Trojans in exhibition
Usually, a 15-point victory is celebrated by the VCU Rams and head coach Anthony Grant. However, this was not the case Wednesday night at the Siegel Center after the Rams knocked off the Virginia State Trojans 79-64 in VCU’s final exhibition game.
“My expectations are a lot higher for our basketball team in terms of how hard we play,” Grant said.
Usually, a 15-point victory is celebrated by the VCU Rams and head coach Anthony Grant. However, this was not the case Wednesday night at the Siegel Center after the Rams knocked off the Virginia State Trojans 79-64 in VCU’s final exhibition game.
“My expectations are a lot higher for our basketball team in terms of how hard we play,” Grant said. “Our execution, our discipline; the things that I am about as a coach, were not on display tonight.”
VCU gave up 17 offensive rebounds on the way to a 45-34 disadvantage on the glass, committed 24 fouls and shot 23.5 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
“We just didn’t play as good as we could have played,” said sophomore forward Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie).
Early on, it appeared that the Rams would take care of the Trojans in easy fashion after a Terrance Saintil (North Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) basket gave VCU a 20-10 lead and forced a VSU timeout with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. The Trojans chipped into the lead slowly, taking a 10-point deficit with seven minutes to play and bringing it down to six, 36-30 at halftime.
Senior point guard Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover) led the Rams in points and rebounds at the half with 10 and four respectively, but Grant decided to rest his star player in the second half in order to challenge his team.
“Maybe it was a message, or maybe it was just me as a basketball coach trying to figure out what I have to work with,” Grant said. “I know what I’m going to get out of him. There are some questions that we have to figure out at other positions.”
In the point guard’s absence, Sanders, Ed Nixon (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood), Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs) and Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell) stepped up their play to lead the Rams to victory in the second half. After a Michael Johnson basket brought the Trojans within three at 45-42, Sanders scored six of the next eight VCU points to give the Rams a nine-point lead. Virginia State would get no closer than seven the rest of the way, and a pair of Nixon free throws with 8:14 to play gave VCU a double-digit lead for good. As a team, the Rams turned around a 38.2 percent shooting performance in the first half with a 56 percent effort in the second.
Nixon and Rozzell led all scorers with 16 points each while Sanders finished with a double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds. Rodriguez had a game-high 10 assists in the win. Brandon Macklin led VSU with 14 points.
VCU begins its regular season Sunday with a game against The Citadel, the first game of the Cancun Challenge for both teams.
By the numbers
Virginia State: Mines 7, Johnson 11, Chaney 10, Macklin 14, Willis 5, Lipscomb 2, Mills 0, Crockett 8, Washington 2, Springfield-Cobb 1, Idlet 2, Simpson 2. Totals: 22 18-26 64. 3-pointers: Mines, Chaney.
VCU: Sanders 14, Maynor 10, Rozzell 16, Pishchalnikov 3, Nixon 16, Saintil 5, Smith 0, Rodriguez 3, Burgess 12, Hinton 0. Totals: 27 21-29 79. 3-pointers: Rozzell 3, Maynor.
