Men’s basketball shows resilience in win at Xavier

Jim Swing
Sports Editor

To say VCU was in the midst of a make or break situation would be inaccurate, over-the-top and premature.

After suffering a blowout loss at Saint Louis though, what Saturday’s Atlantic 10 match with Xavier was, was the opportunity to take one step forward or three steps back.

A loss to the Musketeers could’ve meant falling into a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings. Instead, a 75-71 come-from-behind win over the Musketeers gave the Rams sole possession of second place a week before a date with Butler that may be the biggest game to ever be played at the Siegel Center.

This was resilience in its finest fashion. Tuesday’s loss to the upstart Billikens was deflating for a VCU team that had pulled off five straight wins following a two game losing streak.

Saint Louis showed no mercy, tossing the Rams around like a rag doll, handing them a 14-point loss – their worst of the season. But it was the type of conference loss on the road that just happens.

Then Saturday started to look like déjà vu all over again. Much like Saint Louis, it seemed like Xavier couldn’t miss in the first half, shooting 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) to VCU’s 10-of-33 (30.3 percent).

The Rams trailed by as much as 17 at the start of the second half, but showed the traits that ultimately separate good teams from the great ones.

Thanks to some timely 3-pointers by senior marksman Troy Daniels, VCU tore off a 22-5 run, which enabled its full-court pressure to settle into place and stifle the Musketeers in the backcourt.

Senior point guard Darius Theus, who sat on the bench much off the first half with two fouls, settled the Rams down on offense and facilitated.

Daniels buried four of his five 3-pointers in the second half and ripped off four steals to lead all scorers with 19 points. Rob Brandenberg scored 18 points, including four critical free throws in the final seconds of the game to seal a victory.

VCU joined Saint Louis as one of just two teams to pull out a victory over Xavier at the Cintas Center since 2007.

Talk about mettle. The Rams had that monkey of a ranking on their back for the second time this season. They were 0-3 when ranked before Saturday, with losses to Richmond, La Salle and Saint Louis.

It was the perfect timing to break what had seemed like a curse. The Rams now have a stronghold on second place in the Atlantic 10 at least until Saturday, when the Bulldogs come to Richmond.

Still, every game matters. VCU’s three remaining games – Butler, Richmond and Temple – present equally challenging matchups as the Rams have faced in the past couple of games.

Back-to-back losses could’ve put VCU in dangerous territory with its remaining schedule and a potential three-way tie looming.

But thanks to a little patience, some fight and a lot of resilience, the Rams are in a much better position.