A record setting night for the VCU Rams

Virginia Commonwealth University Rams hosted the UNCW Seahawks Saturday. VCU delivered a record setting performance as they beat the Seahawks 87-64.

December 18, 2011; 12:27 PM • by Aaron Williams

Last year, the Colonial Athletic Association had a very strong season and sent three teams to the NCAA tournament. With the CAA in a rebuilding year, winning the conference and eventually the conference tournament, is significantly more important to any post-season hopefuls. The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams took a step in the right direction as they defeated their first conference opponent UNCW 87-64 at the Siegel Center on Saturday night.

Senior Bradford Burgess led all scorers with 22 points while shooting 5-10 from three-point range. While Burgess, Reddic, Graham, and Daniels all had double digit performances, the Rams defense was the key to the victory. Eight different players contributed steals as the Rams robbed the Seahawks 20 times and forced 28 turnovers. The Seahawks had to use sophisticated inbound plays just to get the ball onto the court. If they successfully did that, the Seahawks young backcourt struggled so much that head coach Buzz peterson said, “if #2 (Briante Weber) or #10 (Darius Theus) is guarding you, don’t bring the ball up the court.”

With most of VCU’s students home for the break, the Siegel center had some empty seats, but the Peppas and VCU dance team invited high schoolers to participate. The pep band doubled in size and roughly 100 dancers performed during the halftime show.

Ram of the Game: Darius Theus

Saturday night, Darius Theus played more like a point guard than ever before. He recorded six points, eight assists and seven steals in 26 minutes and avoided foul trouble. His commitment to distributing was contagious as all of the Rams worked hard to pass the ball around the perimeter and find open shots from range. If he can learn to better feed the post, Theus will have all of the tools needed lead the Rams over the next two years.

5 Stats

• The Rams set a school record with 20 steals.
• Darius Theus tied a school record with 7 steals.
• The Rams scored 41 points off turnovers.
• The game was a school record 8th straight sell out.
• The Rams won the turnover battle 28-8.

Looking Forward

The Rams will host UAB on Tuesday December 20th at 7:30pm.

VCU students can bring a friend to the games for free on Dec. 20 (UAB) and Jan. 4 (Georgia State) by showing their college or university ID at the gate the night of the game.

December 18, 2011 12:27 PM 0