Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Current records: VCU 20-12, Fordham 13-20.
In a nutshell: It was a tight game most of the way. Both Rams teams gave it their all. Fordham's largest lead was five points, early in the second half. VCU's largest lead was seven points, at the end of the contest. The score was tied 11 times. VCU won the game, for the most part, by outplaying Fordham in the last four minutes.
In this case, "outplaying" means VCU's entire effort. The offense. The half-court defense. The overall rebounding. The free-throw shooting when it counted most. And, as the seconds ticked down, the coaching that kept VCU focused and executing, with plenty of hustle and enough confidence to get the job done.
From the VCU scorebook: Shulga's stats: 14 pts., 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Lawal's stats: 13 pts. and 6 rebounds. Jackson's stats: 10 pts., 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Bairstow's stats: 9 pts., 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Kuany's stats: 9 pts., 2 rebounds.
From the VCU scorebook: Shulga's stats: 14 pts., 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Lawal's stats: 13 pts. and 6 rebounds. Jackson's stats: 10 pts., 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Bairstow's stats: 9 pts., 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Kuany's stats: 9 pts., 2 rebounds.
As Fordham played and won an overtime game yesterday, in fairness, fatigue may have been a factor in those last four crucial minutes. VCU enjoyed a bye past yesterday's first round action. Fordham's Rose led all scorers with 19 pts.
By the way, at VCU's expense the refs were consistently awful. Sometimes that happens. And, that's all I choose to say about that aspect of what was a pretty good game, anyway.
NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)
By the way, at VCU's expense the refs were consistently awful. Sometimes that happens. And, that's all I choose to say about that aspect of what was a pretty good game, anyway.
NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)
- VCU went 17-of-23 from the free throw line in the second half, while Fordham was just 7-of-10.
- VCU’s defense held Fordham without a field goal for the final 6:26 of game action and allowed just six points.
- The Black and Gold scored 15 points at the free throw line during that stretch despite not hitting a field goal for the final 8:41.
- VCU tried to pull away in the first half, taking a 31-24 lead on a pair of Lawal free throws with 4:53 left in the half. Fordham responded with a 14-3 run to lead 38-34 with 49 seconds left, but a Joe Bamisile 3-pointer got VCU within 38-37 at the break.
- VCU trailed 54-50 with 9:35 remaining, but retook the lead with 4:44 left and never trailed again.
NEXT UP: Tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon, (#5) VCU (20-12) will face (#4) UMass (20-10). Tipoff at approximately 2 p.m. TV: USA Network.
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