Senior day soured: Rams drop final game of regular season
The VCU men’s basketball team was one defensive stop shy of having possession with a chance to pull off a win over James Madison and put a fitting end to an emotional Senior Day.
Jim Swing
Assistant Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times Sports Twitter’
The VCU men’s basketball team was one defensive stop shy of having possession with a chance to pull off a win over James Madison and put a fitting end to an emotional Senior Day.
The Dukes appeared to have different plans Saturday afternoon when junior forward Julius Wells found teammate Rayshawn Goins for a layup on a back door pass that put JMU up by three points with 20 seconds left in regulation.
With a chance to tie the game with one final possession, senior guard Brandon Rozzell threw up two desperation 3-point attempts that came up empty as the Rams fell 72-69 to the Dukes in their final game of the regular season.
“I was holding my breath there that the last ball didn’t go in,” JMU head coach Matt Brady said of Rozzell’s bid to send the game to overtime. “It would’ve been just like our luck for that last three to go in and to go into overtime.”
Head coach Shaka Smart, along with a sellout crowd, honored Rozzell and classmates Joey Rodriguez, Ed Nixon and Jamie Skeen; a senior quartet that has scored 3,528 points and won 96 games for the Rams’ program.
Following the game, Smart emphasized the significance of Senior Day in the career of a college basketball player.
“I am really disappointed for our seniors,” Smart said. “It’s a game that you’re going to remember for the rest of your life and we talked about coming into the game and how important it was for them.”
What was built to be a momentous occasion turned out to be a heartbreaking blunder as the senior group – regularly known for their sharpshooting tendencies – shot just 13-for-36 including 6-for-22 from beyond the arc.
The chips fell differently on the opposing bench as the Dukes shot just under 51 percent from the floor including 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range – of which four were supplied by junior guard Humpty Hitchens.
After recording 13 points against VCU earlier this month, guard Devon Moore was an irritable nuisance once again for the VCU defense.
Moore had his way in the lane, posting a team-high 18 points on the day including a runner that gave JMU a three point lead with 1:31 remaining in the game.
A battle-tested Denzel Bowles – coming off a matchup with Old Dominion’s Frank Hassell – provided a dominant force inside for the Dukes, scoring 14 points to go with nine rebounds.
Before Saturday’s game, JMU had not beaten a team in the top four of the CAA standings all season.
The Rams’ rebounding woes continued as they were out-rebounded for the fourth time in the last five games, leaving much room for improvement over the next week in preparation for the CAA Tournament.
“It sucks, it’s a bad feeling,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a sad mood because it’s the same stuff over and over again… it’s the same thing that keeps shooting us in the foot.”
VCU has now lost four straight conference games for the first time since 2000, which includes three straight losses at home for the first time in the history of the Siegel Center.
“You got to move forward quick because we lose our next game we’re done,” Rodriguez said. “This weekend we could soak over it and be sad about it but Monday we got to come back and be ready to practice because starting next weekend we lose we’re done.”
When asked about the mentality and confidence heading into the CAA Tournament this weekend, a speechless and somber Nixon kept his composure replying: “We just going to be ready, we’re going to be fine; we’re going to win the tournament”
Following a season in which the Rams led the CAA in turnover margin, they failed to force more turnovers than they committed in their final four games.
VCU (21-9, 12-5) concludes the regular season having dropped its final four conference tilts and will face the winner of Friday’s first round matchup between Drexel and Towson.
“We certainly have a team that’s capable, if we do the right things, to win the CAA championship,” Smart said. “but we got to play better than we did today.”
Note: Freshman D.J. Haley received 12 minutes of playing time and recorded two points, two blocks, and five rebounds along with classmate Juvonte Reddic who posted four points, two steals and a rebound in nine minutes of play.
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Photo by: Kyle LaFerriere
