Panthers no match for Rams

While most of you were snuggled on a couch somewhere on Saturday night thankful you had stocked up on bread, milk, and eggs ahead of the second major snowstorm to hit RVA this winter, your intrepid reporter hoofed it over to the Siegel Center to watch the VCU Rams defeat the Georgia State Panthers 78-62.

January 31, 2010; 8:30 AM • by Erik Bonkovsky

After pounding CAA cellar-dweller Towson on Wednesday, in the Panthers, the Rams faced another team from the bottom half of the conference. Saturday’s was not an elegant game (a combined 52 personal fouls and 31 turnovers), but the win moves VCU to 7-4 in the CAA and 15-5 overall.

Mimicking the weather, VCU started the game cold outside, misfiring on their first five three-pointers. Not to be outdone, GSU also took a cue from the foul weather and seemed determined to commit a foul on every one of VCU’s offensive trips. They say that the Eskimos have dozens of words for snow; the Panthers apparently have dozens of words for hack–or at least 18 (the number they committed in the first half). The Rams took advantage of the hack-happy Panthers by burying 17 of 22 attempts from the line in the first.

At the break VCU lead 45-32 (their largest margin of the night). Most of the damage was done in the final 8 minutes as the Rams mounted a 26-14 run. They were paced by balanced scoring from Larry Sanders, Joey Rodriguez, and Coach Smart’s first VCU signee, freshman Darius Theus. Theus, who by scoring 10 points surpassed his career high in the first half, was particularly impressive, showing why he attracted recruiting interest from schools as distant as Washington State.

A frigid start to the second half by Rams, allowed the Panthers to trim the lead to 50-44 with 11:32 remaining. Both teams spun their wheels, turning the ball over. The Rams particularly melted under the extended GSU defensive pressure, committing 15 turnovers in the sloppy second half . Only Rodriguez, who ended with a game high 22 points (including 12-13 from the line) and 9 assists, provided a steadying hand for the Rams.

Sanders’ first (and only) second half points came on a layup at 6:10 which pushed the VCU lead to 56-51. He ended with 13 points and 13 rebounds. The final push came from Ed Nixon who followed Sanders’ layup with a knifing three point play to give the Rams some breathing room with just over 5 minutes to play. Nixon then added a three-pointer with 1:46 left to effectively ice the game. And it was Nixon again who punctuated the victory with a dunk (from a Rodriguez assist) moments later.

Game Notes:

The number of empty seats at the Siegel Center were enough to make you think the Lady Rams were playing. But what it lacked in numbers, the crowd made up for in vitriol, showing the effects of the SNOMG2, which left them with little to do pre-game other than, well, pre-game.

The coaches for both team wore tennis shoes on Saturday night as part of Coaches versus Cancer. It’s a good cause, but there is little sillier than grown men wearing suits and tennis shoes. It makes me think that more sports ought to adopt baseball’s procedure: the coaches wear the same uniform as the players.

The Rams shot an incredible 30-35 (86%) from the free throw line for the game, including a perfect 13-13 in the second half. They converted 13 more free throws than the Panthers attempted.

The Rams are next in action on Wednesday as they travel to Wilmington to face the UNCW Seahawks. They return to the Siegel Center next Saturday for a 4 PM tilt with in-state rival Old Dominion.