 VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH 75, AKRON 73 IN OT RAMS FINISH DECEMBER 6-0
Junior guard Darius Theus converted a layup off a busted play with 2.7 seconds remaining in the extra session to give VCU (10-3) its seventh consecutive victory. The Rams went through the month of December with a perfect 6-0 mark and head into Colonial Athletic Association play on Monday at Hofstra.
“It was a terrific college basketball game.” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said after the game. “It is too bad someone had to lose. Both teams fought, and played their hearts out for 45 minutes. I’m proud of our guys”
Senior forward Bradford Burgess led four Rams in double figures with 19 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, while playing 42 minutes. Freshman guard Briente Weber and sophomore guard Rob Brandeberg each added 11 off the bench while Theus scored 10.
BROKEN PLAY TURNS INTO WINNING PLAY
When asked about the winning play in overtime, Smart said “I can’t say we ran the play to perfection. It ended up being a pretty broken play, We wanted to get the ball to Brad (Burgess) at the high-post area…We thought he could get into the lane and make a play.”
“I tried to get it off as quick as I could,” Theus said. “He (Marshall) did change a lot of shots. His length was very tough on us tonight.”
Akron (7-5) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, along with a 24-game winning skein at home dating back to last season. In addition, it was their first home loss in the month of December since 2008 when the Zips lost to Dayton, 54-50.
“I don’t know why I feel this way,” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said afterward. “But for whatever reason -- whether it be Shaka or VCU or this particular group -- but I can’t remember being this disappointed in an outcome since they banked it in on us against Miami (Doug Penno’s three-pointer in the championship game of the 2007 FirstEnergy MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game) with the clock malfunction. … I just felt like we did a lot of really good things to win the game.”
CVETINOVIC LEADS SCORERS
Fifth-year senior Nikola Cvetinovic led all scorers in the contest with 21 points, along with seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Sophomore guards Brian Walsh and Alex Abreu each added 11. Junior center Zeke Marshall had 10 but again was strong defensively with six blocked shots.
“It says he (Marshall) blocked six shots. I contest that.” Smart said. “I thought he blocked 18 shots.”
“This was probably the first big challenge for us this year.” Cvetinovic said. “We came upon a team that is run and gun. I give a lot of credit to our coaching staff because they prepared us for this. We worked hard in practice to prepare for their up-tempo style of play.”
The game was a replay of a Bracketbusters matchup in 2010 when the Rams routed the Zips in Richmond, 73-50. But also it matched friend against friend as Smart was one of the first assistants Dambrot hired when he took over as head coach in 2004.
Smart spent three seasons with the Zips before heading to Clemson. He worked with Oliver Purnell at Clemson and moved on to Florida with Billy Donovan before taking the head job at VCU, leading them to their run to the 2011 NCAA Final Four in Houston before losing in the national semifinal to Butler.
UPTEMPO RULES EARLY
The first 20 minutes was played at a frenetic pace as both teams embraced a fast pace. After the Zips took an 8-6 lead on a three-pointer from the top of the circle by Walsh, VCU scored the next nine points to take 15-8 lead at the 12:40 mark on a baseline jumper by Theus.
UA responded with a 13-1 run to take a 21-15 lead at the 8:13 mark on a short baseline jumper by sophomore Demetrius Treadwell. The Rams then used a 12-4 spurt to regain the lead, 27-25, at the 4:42 mark on a steal and lay-up by freshman guard Teddy Okereafor.
The Zips outscored the Rams 11-5 for the remainder of the half to take a 36-32 lead at halftime. As in their previous four home games, all wins, UA shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes, going 15-for-29 from the field (51.7%) and leading the rebound battle 20-12. One glaring number for UA was 11 turnovers, which VCU converted 12 points. It was a harbinger of things to come.
ZIPS OPEN DOULE-DIGIT SECOND HALF LEAD
At the start of the second half, the Zips opened a 10-point lead, 48-38, with 16:48 remaining when Cvetinovic hit a short turnaround in the lane.
UA extended the lead to 12. The largest of the contest 54-52 with 12:01 remaining on a three from deep in the right arc by senior guard Brett McClanahan and a driving layup by sophomore guard Quincy Diggs.
VCU then went on a 15-3 run, tying the score at 57-57 with 8:01 remaining, as it took advantage of UA fouls by getting into the one-and-one and double bonus during the run. Burgess had six points in the stretch, including a foul line extended jumper for the tying points.
The Zips came back and on consecutive threes – first a trey by Abreu from the right arc and then a three by Diggs from deep in the left corner to grab a 63-57 lead.
ABREU BACK
To see Abreu playing at all in this game was surprising. The native of Puerto Rico had been playing most of the season with a torn meniscus in his knee. He had surgery performed on December 20th. Nine days later, with compression sleeves on both of his knees, Abreu started at the point, played 37 minutes and had five rebounds, four assists, and a steal to go with his 11 points.
“He played 37 minutes on a seven day repair. This is very rare for a guy to come back this quickly (from surgery)” Dambrot said.
The Rams battled back and used an 11-2 run to regain the lead with 2:32 remaining as Burgess connected from on a three from the left arc. UA tied the score on a driving layup by Cvetinovic at the 1:29 mark and then took the lead at the 33.4 mark. Diggs drove into the lane and put up a shot that was good in spite of a foul by Reddic, who fouled out on the whistle.
When Diggs’ missed his free throw, Cvetinovic was called for a foul going over the back of freshman forward Trevon Graham, who went to the foul line and easily made both free throws to tie the game 70-70.
LAST CHANCE IN REGULATION
Both teams had a chance to win it in regulation. VCU’s opportunity ended in a turnover, while the Zips chance failed when Cvetinovic missed a jumper, sending the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Brandenberg hit a jumper from the left wing to give VCU the lead, 72-70. UA countered with the next three-points -- all from the foul line.
A tip-in by sophomore center D.J. Haley gave the Rams the lead back, 74-73, with 1:49 remaining. The visitors then had a chance to extend their lead in their next possession but were called for traveling, giving UA a chance.
With 20.5 seconds remaining Marshall was fouled by Haley. Marshall made both free throws to give the Zips a 75-74 lead, setting up for the final frantic seconds.
“Coach is always talking about battling through adversity no matter what it is.” Burgess said. “It took me awhile to hit shots. I just had to battle through and fine other ways to score.”
Akron finishes the 2011 portion of its schedule on Saturday, traveling to Huntington, West Virginia to battle the Marshall Thundering Herd (Conference USA) before opening MAC play on January 7 at Miami.
GAMEBOOK
KEY MOMENT: The final play of overtime. VCU guard Darius Theus turned a busted play into the game-winning layup with 2.7 seconds remaining for the victory
PLAYER OF THE GAME: BRADFORD BURGESS-VCU. The senior from Midlothian, Virginia led the Rams with 19 points, 13 coming in the second half and overtime. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals
KEY STATS OF THE GAME: 1) Akron committed 20 turnovers (a season high), which VCU converted into 25 points and 2) VCU winning the rebound battle 36-35
NOTEBOOK:
The game was sixth lifetime meeting between the two schools, with VCU winning all of them…It was Akron’s first game against the CAA since its game vs. VCU in 2010… Zeke Marshall-AKR has 192 career blocked shots and has scored in double figures in five of his last six games…Brian Walsh-AKR has scored in double figures in three straight and four of his last five…Nick Harney-AKR was reinstated after missing the last five games with a suspension. He played six minutes and scored four points…Bradford Burgess-VCU played in his 123rd consecutive game. He has scored in double digits in 11 of 13 games so far this season, and moved into 13th place on the all-time scoring list 1,395 points…Rob Bradnenberg-VCU has double digit scoring in eight of his last ten games…VCU went 6-0 in the month of December -- only the fourth time in school history…VCU is 27-8 against non-conference opposition in regular season play since Shaka Smart has been head coach…New Zips head football coach Terry Bowden was announced to the crowd during a first half media timeout
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