Bad blood takes center stage as Rams rout Mason 89-77 on senior night

Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
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After VCU’s 89-77 beat down of George Mason on Saturday night, it’s safe to say that no Ram player will go to bed with visions of Sherrod Wright’s buzzer-beating three-pointer in their head anymore.

“As soon as the game was over, we never forgot about it,” said VCU point guard Darius Theus. “We’ve just been waiting for this game, and it just shows how hungry we were to go out and play Mason.”

In what was senior night for VCU, and also the last game of the regular season, the Rams posted their highest output of the season with 89 points, topping an 87 point explosion against UNC-Wilmington back in December. The Rams’ lone senior Bradford Burgess had a career-high 31 points in the final home game of his career. Juvonte Reddic had his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Troy Daniels knocked down five three-pointers en route to a 17-point performance.

Burgess and the rest of the Rams were given some extra motivation moments before tip-off as the athletic department conducted a pregame senior night ceremony, honoring Burgess and a senior team manager. As the team was still posing for pictures, Mason senior Andre Cornelius led the Patriots onto the court for layup lines, blatantly interrupting the end of the ceremony as they were met by an uproar of boos from the Siegel Center crowd.

“I can’t talk about that, but if you were at the game you saw what happened,” said a humble Burgess.

Theus and Burgess both declined to comment on the act, but head coach Shaka Smart made it clear that it did not go unnoticed by anyone. When asked if they noticed what Cornelius and the rest of the Patriot players did, Smart said simply, “Yes.”

When asked to elaborate, he said, “We noticed it and we fed off of it.”

GMU also had two technical fouls and a flagrant foul in the contest, in which the Patriots trailed by double-digits the entire way following a 12-0 VCU run over just a minute-and-a-half stretch in the first half.

“It was crazy; we just looked up, and it was turnover after turnover,” said Theus. “It’s just discipline on defense and being aggressive in the press. As we’re pressing teams, they will get worn down and mentally tired.”

With the victory, VCU eclipsed the 25-win mark in the regular season for the first time in school history. They also wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the CAA tournament, with Drexel in the top slot and Mason at No. 3. The Rams and Patriots, who split the regular season series 1-1, would meet for a third time if they both win their opening game in the tournament.

Photos by Chris Conway