A-10 Championship: VCU falls to Duquesne, 57-51

Thai Wilson, Sports Editor

VCU beat three Atlantic 10 opponents last week, making it to the A-10 championship game against Duquesne, and lost 57-51 on Sunday, March 17.

VCU head coach Ryan Odom said he is proud of the team coming together and making it all the way to the finals in his first year as head coach.

VCU vs. Fordham

VCU beat the Fordham University Rams, 69-62 on Wednesday, March 13. 

Coach Odom said they have a ton of respect for Fordham University, from the staff to the players. 

“They play with a ton of energy and emotion and enthusiasm and a tough brand of basketball that it’s really tough to beat,” Odom said.

Both teams traded baskets during the first half but fourth-year guard Kyle Rose hit a three-pointer at the end of the half that gave Fordham a 38-37 lead going into halftime. 

VCU fourth-year guard Max Shulga said the physicality of the Fordham game served him well in preparation for the matchup against UMASS the next day.

“Even if it was a different team, it would have been good for us to kind of get a rhythm and have a game under our belt in this gym,” Shulga said.

The second half went similarly to the first, with back-and-forth buckets between the two Rams squads until the score was 63-62 in favor of the black and gold.

VCU went on a 6-0 free throw run with 26 seconds, sealing the game for the Rams, and moved on to face the Minutemen.

VCU vs. UMASS

The Rams beat the No. 4 seeded UMASS Minutemen, 73-59, on Thursday, March 14.

Differently from the game against Fordham, the Rams started by losing 5-2, but then went on a big run to end the half with a 42-25 lead. 

VCU shot 55% from the field, 56% from the three-point line and 87% from the charity stripe, according to Statbroadcast.

VCU fourth-year guard Zeb Jackson said the Rams’ defensive pressure led to scoring opportunities.

“I think a huge part of it obviously was us getting stops and us scoring off those stops,” Jackson said. “We wanted to get our stops and transition more so that they can’t really set up their defense.”

UMASS came out of halftime trying to come back and brought VCU’s lead down to 65-59 with four minutes left. The Minutemen were already in foul trouble, and the Rams held onto their lead until the final buzzer.

The black and gold moved on to play Saint Joseph’s University on Saturday, March 16.

VCU vs. Saint Joseph’s 

VCU faced off against the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks and won 66-60. 

Shulga’s 25-point performance, where he shot over 90% from the field, aided the Rams’ win.

Shulga said he practices his shots almost every day before and after practice.

“I try to show up to practice 30 minutes before and go through my everyday routine and get my shots up every day,” Shulga said. 

The Rams started the game with a 21-12 lead with four minutes remaining, but then the Hawks went on a 13-2 run to go into halftime with a 25-23 lead, according to Statbroadcast.

SJU third-year guard Erik Reynolds II led the Hawks in scoring going into halftime with 10 points.

Coach Odom gave credit to Reynolds II and said he was a hard player to contain.

As soon as the second half began, both teams started trading baskets and with eight minutes left, VCU graduate student guard Sean Bairstow made a layup to give the Rams a 59-55 lead becoming a 1000-point collegiate career scorer.

“I think maybe I would have got it earlier in the season if I wasn’t so injury-prone,” Bairstow said. “I’m more happy with going to the championship game.”

Bairstow’s layup sealed the game for the Rams, as the Hawks couldn’t come back and take the lead back. 

VCU vs. Duquesne

The Rams lost to Duquesne University, 57-51, on Sunday, March 17 after almost coming back from a 14-point deficit at halftime. 

The Rams struggled to make shots, shooting only 39% from the field during the first half, according to Statbroadcast. 

Duquesne shot 50% from the three-point line in the first half and ended it with a 36-22 lead over the black and gold.

“The first half they threw the first punch,” Odom said. “They were the more physical team and they were the more aggressive team.”

In the second half, the Rams held the Dukes to six points in the first 13 minutes of play, according to Statbroadcast.

Due to their defensive pressure leading to offense, the Rams were only down 42-39 with six minutes remaining in the game. 

However, the Dukes started to get offensive rebounds again and the Rams were unable to take the lead back. 

“You could tell right away that defensive rebounding was an issue and we never really got settled in,” Odom said.

The Rams will be facing Villanova University on Wednesday, March 20 in the National Invitational Tournament.

“The guys will be excited to compete for another championship,” Odom said.