Wichita State shocks VCU in early matchup

Zachary Holden
Staff Writer
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The VCU men’s basketball team lost 53-51 in a thrilling game against Wichita State Tuesday night at the Siegel Center.

“It’s a disappointing game for me as a coach and for our players because we weren’t on edge and we weren’t at our best,” said VCU head coach Shaka Smart. “It’s a valuable lesson to learn, but it’s a tough lesson to learn anytime you lose a game that way.”

Wichita State struck first after nearly two minutes played following a Malcolm Armstead layup. The two teams traded baskets with the Shockers going on top after each VCU equalizer. It wasn’t until the 13:29 mark when the Rams finally grabbed their first lead of the game after a Darius Theus jumper.

They didn’t hold that lead long though, and wouldn’t have the lead for the rest of the half. VCU made sure to keep the game within two possessions to ensure it didn’t get out of hand early.

The Shockers seemed to counter VCU’s havoc style of play perfectly and didn’t let it get to them at all.

“They were bringing multiple guys up,” said Theus. “They did a real good job against the press.”

Entering halftime, the Rams trailed the Shockers by four points and Smart didn’t seem too happy with the performance up to that point. As usual, though, his message during halftime seemed to work as VCU started the second half on a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead.

Armstead ended the Rams’ run with a layup after being held scoreless for nearly four minutes.

Trading baskets back and forth, both teams and fans knew the game would come down to the wire. Between the 7:44 mark and 3:57 mark, neither team scored a basket.

With just under five minutes to go, Troy Daniels came down with a rebound and landed on teammate Brainte Weber, causing Daniels to turn his ankle. He writhed in pain for a minute or so before being helped up and off of the court to get his ankle examined in the locker room.

“Troy is fine,” assured Theus.

“I haven’t talked to the trainer, [but] I would guess he’ll miss a little bit of practice,” said Smart. “Troy is a tough kid [so] I would guess he’ll be back playing relatively soon.”

In the final four minutes, VCU kept it close thanks to clutch play from Theus and Juvonte Reddic. With 27 seconds to go, the Rams were down by 3 before Theus stepped up behind the arc and effortlessly drained the game-tying 3-pointer.

Wichita State then gained possession with 27 seconds to try and win the game. Malcolm Armstead had the ball and was letting the time tick away before calmly knocking down a mid-range jumper to put the Shockers up by two with 3.8 seconds to go.

“It’s called the ‘see play’, everybody get out of the way and see what [Armstead] can get you. It worked pretty well,” said Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall.

A VCU timeout came and coach Smart drew up a play hoping to tie the game and force overtime. The ball was inbounded to Reddic who took drove to the basket and got off a layup before the whistles were blown with five-tenths of a seconds to go.

The officials called a shooting foul against the Shockers sending Reddic to the line with two free throws and a chance to tie the game. The VCU bench, however, wanted goaltending called.

Reddic stepped up and missed his first free throw, then failed an intentional miss on the second free throw by not letting it hit the rim first, thus ending the Rams hopes at overtime.

“It’s just one of those times it just didn’t go,” said Reddic. “It’s one thing you can’t control. You’ve got to move on now.”

Reddic’s double-double led the team as he finished the night with 22 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. Theus added 15 points and five assists.

Smart said he thought Tuesday’s game was a good reality check for his team this early in the season.

“Tonight served as a reminder that we have a long way to go. If we’re not playing…the way we need to play in terms of our approach, teams can beat us, even on our home floor,” said Smart. “I’m far from glad that we lost, but it’s definitely a lesson that if we can heed…we’ll get better.”

VCU played Wichita State in the first round of last season’s NCAA tournament where it upset the No. 5 seeded Shockers 62-59. They also met the season before in a regular season game where the Rams traveled to Wichita and won 68-67.

When asked about this being a new rivalry, the coaches gave their thoughts.

“It’s something Shaka and I can discuss,” said Marshall. “Someone asked me if this was a rivalry and I said, ‘It’s not a rivalry until we win one,’ so maybe now it could be something that we could continue.”

“It’s not really something that we’ve thought about [but] they’ve got a great program,” said Smart.

The Rams are now 1-1 on the season and face Winthrop on the road in their next game Saturday afternoon.