Revenge is sweet . part two

After making up for a loss to Nevada in the 2008-2009 season on Friday, the VCU men’s basketball team duplicated the feat with an 82-80 victory over Rhode Island on Wed. Dec 2 at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

The win paid back Rhode Island, who beat VCU 82-76 in Kingston, R.I. last year.

“I thought it was one of the most intense games we have had and it was that way for 40 minutes, literally,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said.

With Eric Maynor in the house, VCU played another team with the Ram nickname for the fourth time in school history.

Even though they got the win, the black and gold struggled, falling behind by as much as seven early in the first half.

A physical Rhode Island team forced the Rams into five turnovers in the first five minutes of the game.

URI also held VCU leading scorer Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) to only eight first-half points.

A VCU team that was playing flat early was given a spark by the two players Smart refers to as “the energy brothers,” Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs) and Ed Nixon (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood).

The energy brothers played a combined 17 minutes in the first half off the bench, scored a combined 12 points and each recorded steals.

“They don’t come in the game and keep the energy level where it is, they bring it up,” Smart said. “These two guys are starters in my eyes . Tonight that was a difference for us.”

In the second half, the game turned into a game of spurts.

It was the Rhode Island Rams that jumped out first, opening the half on a 13-7 jolt, giving them a 53-47 advantage.

Then the VCU Rams recovered, going on a 17-4 run of their own. During the run, the Rams hit three 3-pointers, going 4-5 from outside to open the half.

“They went inside-out and we told our guys we need to especially play against the guys that can shoot the basketball, and we kind of dared them and they made shots,” said Rhode Island coach Jim Baron.

VCU used the momentum from that run to hold the lead the rest of the way, despite the fact the teams battled back and forth.

Rhode Island tied the game at 70 with 7:33 remaining, but URI would never hold the lead as VCU played just well enough to stay ahead.

The black and gold had an opportunity to put the game away in the final minute. However, Rozzell, Sanders and Joey Rodriguez (Olviedo, Fla./Lake Howell) all missed the front-half of one-and-ones, leaving the door open for a Rhode Island miracle.

With the score 82-80 Rodriguez missed a free throw, giving Rhode Island guard Marquis Jones a heave from half-court that just missed off the back of the rim.

The near miss was followed by one of the biggest sighs of relief in Siegel Center history and VCU walked away with an 82-80 win.

Three VCU players finished in double figures: Bradford Burgess (Midlothian/Benedictine) had another solid performance with 16, Rozzell had 17 and Sanders tallied his second double-double in a row-his 16th in total, with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Rams were out-rebounded 36-22 for the game and Rhode Island hit more shots, but it was Rhode Island’s 22 turnovers and VCU’s bench depth that turned out to be huge factors in the final results.

Seven-footer Will Martell led the visiting Rams with 18 points on the night. URI put four other players in double figures.

VCU finishes a gantlet of tough early-season games with five wins out of six games. The Rams opened CAA play on Sat. Dec. 5 with a game at William & Mary.

By The Numbers

Rhode Island (4-1)

Jones 3, Ulmer 11, James 10, Cothran 16, Martell 18, Mejia 4, Wilson 10, Richmond 2, Outerbridge 6, Brooks 0
Totals: 32 15-20 80 3-pointers: James 1 (1-7 team)

VCU (5-1)

Gavin 5, Sanders 19, Rodriguez 6, Burgess 16, Gwynn 6, Theus 1, Pishchalnikov 3, Rozzell 17, Nixon 9
Totals: 29 17-25 82 3-pointers: Sanders 1, Rodriguez 1, Burgess 2, Rozzell 2, Nixon 1 (7-18 team)