Rob Brandenberg lifts VCU past UNCW

One game at a time: that’s all VCU can focus on as the season draws to a close and they try to improve their post season resume. Wednesday night’s 63-59 win over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks didn’t help the Ram’s resume, but they still they still picked up an essential victory.

February 23, 2012; 9:37 AM • by Aaron Williams

Recap

One game at a time: that’s all VCU can focus on as the season draws to a close and they try to improve their post season resume. Wednesday night’s 63-59 win over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks didn’t help the Ram’s resume, but they still they still picked up an essential victory.

Tweets from last night

Relive the game through the magic of Twitter! Follow the tweets and pictures from during VCU’s win over UNCW.

Last time out against UNCW, the Rams simply handled the Seahawks. On Wednesday night, because of extremely poor shooting, VCU couldn’t pull away, and with 40 seconds remaining the Seahawks only trailed by two points. With 8.7 seconds remaining, the Seahawks had an opportunity to inbound the basketball and either tie or win the ball game. After the inbounds, Rob Brandenberg stepped up on defense, stole the ball and drew a foul to seal the four point victory.

Bradford Burgess just couldn’t buy a bucket and he finished 1-12 on the night. While #20 couldn’t get it going, Wednesday night turned out to be a sophomore show. Forward Juvonte Reddic and guard Rob Brandenberg shot a combined 13-26 to score 35 points while grabbing 15 rebounds and picking up three steals.

The Rams’ ability to win even with Bradford Burgess unable to score will undoubtedly serve them in the future as they attempt to expand upon their newest win streak.

Top Performer: Rob Brandenberg

On a night when Bradford Burgess couldn’t get going, Rob Brandenberg took over. Expectations were high for Brandenberg’s sophomore season, and in many ways he has disappointed thus far. Recently though, he has found his shot and has started working his way back towards a starting role. Most of the season #11 has struggled with getting his shot to fall, but in the past three games he has shot 15-26 (57.7%) and 6-12 (50%) from 3-point range.

5 stats

  • Rob Brandenberg scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half.
  • The Rams shot an abysmal 5-23 (21.7%) from 3-point range.
  • Bradford Burgess shot 1-12. He has now shot below 10% in three different games this season.
  • The steal machine Briante Weber’s 4 steals was his best performance since January 23rd against Hofstra.
  • Troy Daniels has shot a disappointing 9-33 (27%) in his past five games.

Looking forward

While Drexel has locked up the #1 seed in the CAA tournament, VCU looks to avenge their heartbreaking Valentine’s Day loss to GMU this Saturday.

  • Saturday February 25th. 6pm. George Mason (23-7, 14-3). Stuart C. Siegel Center.

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