VCU blazes past UAB for fifth straight win
VCU men’s basketball defeats UAB 68-49 for its seventh win in the last eight game.
Jim Swing
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter
The TV cameras shined brightly into the eyes of Juvonte Reddic, Treveon Graham and Bradford Burgess as they sat in front of a horde of media in the postgame press conference.
Three guys, quiet and shy in nature in the midst of learning their new roles on a young team that lost four seniors to graduation last year had just weakened, strong-armed and deteriorated UAB’s game plan in VCU’s 68-49 win over the Blazers Tuesday night.
They had just won their fifth straight game by a margin of 19 points or more, yet they sat there stone-faced and nearly silent, waiting to be called upon. They’re different from last year’s group of talkative veterans, who would walk into the media room after a win kidding around with smiles on their faces. They’re silent assassins, who get the job done, and lately with flying colors.
“Losing four seniors, everybody has to step up,” Burgess said. “We’re one of the youngest teams in the country and we have guys that are capable of playing and producing and making big impacts every night.”
It was another night when VCU allowed Havoc to take control, all the while putting up points with a litany of different scorers. One game after scoring a career-high 16 points in a win over UNC Wilmington, Graham, a freshman guard, set a new personal high with 18 points and six rebounds to lead the Rams.
“When I’m on the floor,” a reticent and reserved Graham said. “My teammates with the confidence and just knowing that they believe in me and my game just helps me go out there and play my game.”
Reddic, a sophomore forward, neared perfection as he went 8-for-9 from the floor for 16 points to go along with six rebounds. And the lone senior Burgess stepped away from his role as a leading scorer for the night, chipping in a valuable eight points, four assists and three rebounds.
“He’s really doing what a senior should do,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said. “Which is whatever it takes to win.”
Graham and Reddic’s 34 points combined was once again evidence that anyone can step up at anytime to help a young VCU team win.
“Tonight was the Tre Graham show and Juvonte Reddic show, and we’re going to need that at times during the season,” Burgess said. “Every game anybody is capable of going off the way they did.”
Tuesday night’s fifth straight win at home came in front of the ninth consecutive sellout at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, which tied a CAA record previously set by UNCW. But this one came against a Blazers team that erased a 19-point second half VCU lead to steal a heartbreaking win over the Rams a year ago. With VCU carrying as much as a 22-point lead in the second half, Burgess said last season’s blunder became a topic in the huddle.
“A couple timeouts we said this is not last year,” Burgess said. “We’re going to keep going, keep the pressure up. We’re not going to let that repeat.”
And they didn’t. VCU’s defense was too tiring and demoralizing for a UAB team that was barely afforded time to catch its breath. The Blazers became yet another victim to VCU’s trap defense, which helped cause 23 UAB turnovers. Coming out the half, it took the Blazers all of eight minutes score their first field goal. They didn’t look like a team that was just given a break; instead they looked fatigued and disheartened.
“We can see them over there grabbing their shorts, breathing heavy, we can tell the game is taking effect on them,” Burgess said. “Their missing shots, their shots are short, they’re turning the ball over.
“When we see that, we have to get even more aggressive to take even more advantage of their getting tired.”
VCU has now won seven of its last eight games, and by an average margin of nearly 18.6 points. Who knew a group of young, generally quiet and shy guys could cause so much havoc?