SPORTS: VCU returns home to smash William & Mary in game one of ‘revenge week’
Taylor Howsmon
Sports Editor
According to VCU coach Shaka Smart, junior guard Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs) coined the term “revenge week” to describe the first week back for the VCU student body.
The Rams will play two of the four teams that have beaten them this season during the week, the other being Northeastern on Saturday, and it began with a home match against conference rival William & Mary at the Stuart C. Siegel Center Wednesday.
The Tribe overcame a 15-point second half VCU lead and beat the Rams in Williamsburg 75-74 back on December 5th.
This time however, VCU would hold its large second half lead and crush the Tribe to the tune of 81-59.
“Last time we played William & Mary we had a terrific first half defensively and we really let up in the second half,” Smart said. “(Tonight) I thought we did a terrific job of shutting them down defensively.”
The Rams jumped on a cold shooting Tribe team leaping out to a 15-4 lead at the 13:28 mark.
From start to finish, the crowd played a factor into the game. According to Smart, the electric atmosphere was, in large part, thanks to the return of the students.
“It makes such a difference,” Smart said. “It’s really like playing six on five and our guys feed off it so much.”
Junior guard Joey Rodriguez (Olviedo, Fla/Lake Howell) echoed the sentiment about the crowd.
“You miss that. It was hard to play Northeastern (and other teams) with nobody here, so having the students back really helped,” Rodriguez said.
The VCU crowd of 7,524 was the third sellout of the season in the Siegel Center.
Rodriguez showed his appreciation for the “sixth man.” The junior played arguably his best game in a VCU uniform. He finished the night with his first double-double of his career.
Rodriguez’ final stat line read 18 points and 10 assists.
After William & Marry had cut the halftime lead to five and began the second half on a 5-1 spurt, VCU never faltered.
The black and gold responded with an 18-5 run, mostly led by Jaime Skeen (Charlotte, N.C./North Mecklenburg) and Terrance Saintil (North Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) who combined for 11 of those points.
With a 51-36 lead, their largest of the night at the time, the Rams kept William & Mary at bay for the remaining 10 minutes.
Rodriguez’ alley-oop lob to Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) with 1:21 remaining gave the guard his double-double, and officially plunged the dagger into the fading opponent.
When it was all said and done, VCU had sealed the deal on its 13th win of the year and its fourth in a row, 81-59.
Along with Rodriguez’ numbers, Sanders finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Rozzell added 15 points with 3-4 three-point shooting.
The Rams shot 52 percent for the game and shot 16-19 from the foul line.
Senior Danny Sumner led the Tribe with 20 points. David Schneider scored 15 and Marcus Kitts scored the double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
VCU looks to continue their trail of revenge as they take on Northeastern, in Boston, on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game can be seen on Comcast SportsNet in Richmond.
By The Numbers
William & Mary (14-4, 6-2)
Schneider 15, McDowell 2, Sumner 20, McCurdy 0, Kitts 16, Hess 0, Brown 3, Gaillard 0, Rum 0, Ludwick 3.
Totals: 24 4-7 59 3-pointeres: Schneider 3, Sumner 2, Brown 1, Ludwick 1 (team: 7-27)
VCU (13-4, 5-3)
Sanders 18, Rodriguez 18, Burgess 7, Skeen 7, Rozzell 15, Grayson 0, Saintil 6, Theus 2, Pishchalnikov 0, Daniels 0, Hinton 0, Gwynn 2, Nixon 6
Totals: 29 16-19 81 3-pointers: Rodriguez 1, Burgess 1, Rozzell 3, Nixon 2 (team: 7-17)
