Phase one-complete:VCU returns home to smash William & Mary in game one of ‘revenge week’
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.
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 early leaping out to a 15-4 Rodriguez’ final stat line read 18 points and 10 assists.
After William & Mary 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 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.