VCU drops thriller at ODU, secures fifth seed in CAA tournament

Taylor Howsmon

Sports Editor

It seemed to good to be true.
The VCU men’s basketball team was finally going to exercise their road demons and actually hold a late lead, break Old Dominion’s 23-game home winning streak and grab the fourth seed giving them an ever-important bye in the first round of next week’s CAA tournament.
With a four-point lead and only five minutes remaining, VCU found out that what seemed too good to be true, was.
The Rams would be outscored 9-2 in the final minutes and drop a thriller at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, 73-70.
“Both teams battled, scrapped and played hard for forty minutes,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said. “You just think about what could have been,”
A rocking sell-out crowd of 8,424 saw their Monarchs grab a 73-70 lead on the second of Frank Hassell’s two free throws with just six seconds left.
VCU’s Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs) had a great look from the left side of the arc after a perfectly executed play. However, the shot came up just short as time expired.
“It was a pretty good look … I’ll take that from a guy that’s shooting over 40 percent from the three-point line on the season,” Smart said.
The first half started with ODU jumping out to an early 9-4 lead before VCU answered back, eventually tying the game at 15.
From that point (12:14) the teams traded blows even though both VCU post starters, Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) and Jaime Skeen (Charlotte, NC/Wake Forest University), saddled with foul trouble and on the bench.
With the two VCU bigs on the sidelines, the Monarchs dominated VCU on the boards (20-9 in the first half), a theme that ultimately killed the Rams on the day.
“Up in Richmond we out-rebounded them by double figures and won … that was a key in both games because today we got out-rebounded by double figures and lost,” VCU guard Bradford Burgess (Midlothian/Benedictine).
With their top big men on the bench, VCU still was able to battle because of the stellar effort of its bench.
Big men Terrance Saintil (North Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) and T.J. Gwynn (Burlingon, NC/Cummings) scored and provided key minutes and Rozzell led the Rams in scoring in the first 20 minutes with seven.
ODU closed the half in much the same fashion as they closed the game, going on a 10-2 run and taking a 39-34 lead in to the break.
VCU surged right back however in the second behind the stellar play of Skeen, a greatly missed part in the first. The Wake Forest transfer scored eight of the Rams first 10 points out of the locker room.
“I was just excited to be out there,” Skeen said. “In the first half it felt like I missed the entire half. I just wanted to be out there and help my team.”
The teams went back and forth until the 12:46 mark when VCU made its move.
Behind Burgess, the Rams outscored the Monarchs 19-9 to take a 66-62 lead and seemingly grabbed all the momentum.
Sanders knocked in a put back with 4:58 remaining to give VCU the slight 68-64 edge, and then the steady-going VCU ship was blown off course.
ODU followed with a 7-0 of its own and after a Skeen jumper with 1:04 left, the score was 71-70 ODU.
VCU would not score again.
A key play in the game came with only 20 seconds remaining after a brilliant blocked shot by Sanders and possibly an even more brilliant save by Rodriguez.
Sanders caught the save but was stripped by ODU’s Ben Finney and any remaining VCU momentum was stolen away.
Rodriguez missed a jumper that would have tied the game in the final ten seconds. After the free throw by Hassell and the missed three by Rozzell, ODU won the game 73-70 and clinched the CAA regular season title.
ODU put three in double figures led by Gerald Lee, who had a stellar senior day performance with 21 points. Hassell had 17 and Darius James added 10 in the victory.
VCU was led by Burgess with 13,the only other Ram in double digits was Skeen with 10 points.
VCU was out-rebounded 34-22 and that allowed ODU 19 second chance points.
The loss gives VCU a final record of 20-8 and 11-7 in the conference. Because both Drexel and William & Mary won, the Rams receive the fifth seed in the conference tournament next weekend at the Richmond Coliseum.
Winning the conference tournament now becomes even more difficult because no team lower than a four seed has ever won the tournament.
“We’re just excited about the opportunity to play … If you don’t get a bye then obviously you have to play on more game,“ Smart said. “You do everything you can do to survive and advance to the next day.”

By the Numbers
VCU (20-8,11-7)
Sanders 6, Skeen 10, Rodriguez 9, Burgess 13, Nixon 8, Saintil 4, Theus 6, Pishchalnikov 2, Rozzell 7, Gwynn 4.
Totals: 29 7-11 70
3-pointers: Skeen 1, Rodriguez 1, Nixon 2, Rozzell 1 (team: 5-16)
ODU (23-8,15-3)
Lee 21, Hassell 17, Finney 7, Neely 2, Bazemore 9, James 10, Iliadis 0, Cooper 1, DeLancy 2, Carter 4.
Totals: 30 10-17 73
3-pointers: Lee 1, Finney 1, James 1 (team:3-7)