Recap: La Salle, Galloway hand VCU second conference loss

Three days removed from upsetting #9 Butler, Ramon Galloway and the La Salle Explorers topped #19 Virginia Commonwealth University in the Siegel Center Saturday night, 61-69.

January 27, 2013; 10:02 AM • by Aaron Williams

Three days removed from upsetting #9 Butler, Ramon Galloway and the La Salle Explorers topped #19 Virginia Commonwealth University in the Siegel Center Saturday night, 61-69.

Recap

Outside of Juvonte Reddic and Troy Daniels, the first half was a continuation of the bad play that started with 37 seconds remaining against Richmond Thursday night. Reddic finished the first half with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Daniels was 2-2 from 3-point range, but La Salle’s suffocating defense held the rest of the Rams to 2-22 from the field while the Explorer’s guards scored in the paint on command. Even more troubling was VCU’s inability to force turnovers. La Salle forced 14 turnovers to VCU’s 12.

Facing a nine point deficit, the Rams exited the locker room and played some of their best basketball of the season. At one point they were 6-7 of from the field with 4 steals, but a Steve Zack bucket ended their 17-0 run, and the Rams cooled off.

VCU made their runs, but Ramon Galloway seemed to always have an answer. A serious candidate for A-10 player of the year, #55 took over with 8:17 remaining. First it was a 3-pointer, then a fast-break layup, then another 3-pointer. Suddenly a one point VCU lead was a seven point deficit.

The Rams were in need of a miracle, but La Salle played with incredible poise. In the final 2:32, the Explorers went 11-12 from the charity stripe including a perfect 8-8 by Ramon Galloway. Final buzzer: the Rams finish the week 0-2 with losses to sneaky good, improving A-10 teams.

Great teams lose. VCU lost four of their last five regular season games in 2011, weeks before going to the Final Four. This week has been disappointing, but as of now it is merely a stumble in the larger arc of what this season is about: 1) improving 2) making the NCAA tournament.

Coach Smart commented, “I’m really excited about the opportunity with this team to move forward from these two games.” VCU will have time and great opportunities to move forward in the coming weeks. Richmond (KenPom 82)¹ and La Salle (65) were two of the Rams’ toughest opponents in January. Their next six games are all against teams rated in the triple digits: Rhode Island (150), Fordham (255), Charlotte (103), Massachusetts (138), and George Washington (119).

• Loudest moment(s): 107dB. 2nd half-16:03. Seconds after a Briante Weber jumper put VCU up by two points, Darius Theus stole the ball from Tyreek Duren.
• Coach Smart’s Jacket:19:05 remaining in the first half.

Top performer: Ramon Galloway

31 points, 9-18 shooting, 4-8 3-point shooting

La Salle’s impressive week would not have been possible without Galloway. His numbers were far from gaudy against #9 Butler, but his game winner was the deciding play in Philadelphia on Wednesday. What he lacked in the box score against the Bulldogs, he more than made up for on Saturday. Whether he was hitting 3-pointers (including a ridiculous contested banked in three), getting to the rim, or hitting free-throws with the game on the line, Galloway’s stellar performance changed the outcome of the game.

5 stats

• The Associated Press Top-25 lost 17 games this week. 14 of those losses were at the hands of unranked opponents.
• In the 25:37 preceding halftime, VCU was outscored 60-34 by Richmond and La Salle.
• VCU is 17-1 (Missouri is the one loss) when they have a positive turnover margin. The Rams are just 1-4 when they don’t win the turnover battle.
• For the first time since November 17th (18 games), Briante Weber didn’t record a steal.
• VCU is shooting 36-133 (.270) from 3-point range in A-10 play versus 133-369 (.360) out of conference.

VCU

Player	Min	TP	2FG	3FG	FT-FTA	ORPG	RPG	PF	A	TO	Blk	Stl
Darius Theus*	35	6	3-5	0-1	0-0	0	2	4	6	0	1	3
Rob Brandenberg*	29	6	1-6	1-4	1-1	0	1	1	1	0	1	2
Juvonte Reddic*	35	22	9-13	0-0	4-7	7	10	0	1	2	0	3
Treveon Graham*	34	13	4-13	0-4	5-8	6	12	4	2	6	0	0
Troy Daniels*	31	11	1-1	3-6	0-0	1	4	3	1	3	1	1
Briante Weber	15	3	1-3	0-1	1-2	0	1	4	0	1	1	0
Jarred Guest	2	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Melvin Johnson	16	0	0-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DJ Haley	3	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Team	200	61	19-44	4-16	11-18	17	36	19	11	12	4	9

La Salle

Player	Min	TP	FG-FGA	3FG-3FGA	FT-FTA	ORPG	RPG	PF	A	TO	Blk	Stl
DJ Peterson*	31	2	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	2	2	2	1	0	2
Tyreek Duren*	34	16	4-9	0-1	8-11	1	5	3	3	4	0	2
Sam Mills*	34	6	3-4	0-2	0-0	0	2	1	2	3	0	2
Jerell Wright*	17	2	1-2	0-0	0-0	3	9	2	3	2	2	0
Ramon Galloway*	38	31	5-10	4-8	9-10	0	2	2	1	2	1	2
Steve Zack	23	4	2-5	0-0	0-0	4	11	4	0	1	3	0
Taylor Dunn	2	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tyrone Garland	21	8	4-6	0-1	0-1	0	1	4	3	1	0	1
Team	200	69	20-38	4-13	17-22	11	35	18	14	14	6	9

Looking forward

The Rams will try to get back on track when the travel to Rhode Island on Wednesday, January 30th at 7pm.

— ∮∮∮ —

Related

• Preview

— ∮∮∮ —

To stay up to date on all things VCU Basketball related, follow @rvaRAMnews on Twitter or Facebook and sign up for our email newsletter.

— ∮∮∮ —

January 27, 2013 10:02 AM 0