The Rams’ horns break in the first round against BYU, 80-71
VCU graduate student guard Zeb Jackson dribbles up the court. Photo by Arrick Wilson.
Thailon Wilson, Sports Editor
The Atlantic 10 Champions fell in the first round against the Brigham Young University Cougars 80-71 in a lopsided matchup on March 20.
This marked the end of the season for the Rams, and was the final collegiate game for five players on the black and gold.
VCU graduate student guard Zeb Jackson, who is one of those players, led the team in scoring with 23 points in his final game.
“Each year has been super special,” Jackson said. “Each year, I have been surrounded by a group of guys and a group of coaches that have helped me grow in every single way.”
The first half started off even between the Rams and the Cougars. VCU and BYU traded scores and kept the game close.
BYU first-year guard Egor Demin hit a three-pointer to give the Cougars a 27-24 lead at the four-minute mark of the first half.
This would spark a 15-4 run to end the half for BYU and give them a 39-28 lead going into halftime, according to StatBroadcast.
VCU head coach Ryan Odom said that runs are important in basketball and the black and gold weren’t able to prevent them.
“The runs are so important,” Odom said. “We have to minimize the runs.”
BYU started the second half similar to how they ended the first half with a 15-6 run which gave them a 54-34 lead at the 15-minute mark, according to StatBroadcast.
The Rams slowly but surely started to edge away at the lead. The Cougars lead dropped from 20 points to 56-42 after some made threes by the Rams with 11 minutes remaining.
BYU continued to attack the rim to counteract the Rams’ attempted comeback as the Cougars were already in the bonus at the 11-minute mark.
The Cougars had 28 free throw attempts, while the Rams had only six in this matchup, according to StatBroadcast.
VCU made it a 10-point game after first-year guard Brandon Jennings scored a second-chance layup, but Demin made another jumper for the Cougars and brought the lead back up to 64-52 at the eight-minute mark.
The Rams continued scoring, trying to etch away at the Cougars’ lead, but they were able to maintain the gap with an 80-71 lead at the final buzzer, moving them on to the second round of March Madness.
Even though this marked the end of the season, VCU’s players were able to learn a lot from this season and become very close amongst each other, said VCU graduate student forward Jack Clark.
“These are my brothers on and off the court,” Clark said. “We just love to go to battle for each other.”
