VCU Rams

8:47: Game one to VCU, 68-56. The Rams are headed to St. Louis for game two on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Rodriguez had 22 points and Sanders scored 20 with 12 boards. VCU finishes a remarkable 18-1 at home this season.

8:44: The VCU crowd, recognizing that this is potentially Sanders’ final home game, gives the junior forward a raucous ovation when he checks out with less than two minutes to play. It’s a nice high note to leave on, if this is in fact the end of an era. Sanders had 20 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. 68-56 VCU.

8:43: Kirill Pishchalnikov is ready to check in with about two minutes left. He is greeted with a “Ham-mer! Ham-mer!” chant.

8:40: T.J. Gwynn drove and was fouled, dislodging a contact lens in the process. Larry Sanders located the lens over on the baseline by the VCU cheerleaders. It took a minute to get the thing back in, but Gwynn managed to stay in the game so that he could miss a pair of free throws. Maybe next time we’ll just pretend it’s lost. 67-53 VCU with 3:05 left.

8:37: The action has really slowed here the last few minutes after VCU built a 20-point lead. After a couple of unimpressive offensive sets, Shaka Smart calls a timeout to settle his troops. The Rams are still ahead, 67-51 with 3:34 left, but you’d like to see VCU finish the job.

8:27: While muscling for position for a rebound, Saint Louis’ Willie Reed fell backwards onto Brad Burgess. Both players hit the floor, leaving Darius Theus to swoop in for an easy bucket. 64-44 Rams with 7:34 remaining. Senior T.J. Gwynn, who has not played tonight, has checked into the game.

8:24: During the timeout Burgess had a long conversation with a couple of the officials. We can only assume that it was about that screen where he decimated Mitchell. 60-44 Rams with 8:31 left.

8:23: Sanders has 18 points and 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season.

8:20: Brad Burgess just flattened, and I mean flattened, Kwamain Mitchell with a pick. A foul was called. I can only assume  they thought Burgess was moving. The officiating crew took a look at the play on the replay monitor, but decided against any further action. Game on. 58-44 with 9:35 showing.

8:18: The “One More Year” chant, directed at Larry Sanders, has started up again.

8:15 Rodriguez has hit all four of his 3-point attempts tonight and the Rams are 6-of-8 overall. VCU started the game 6-of-16 from the field, but is 16-of-26 (.615) since.

8:13: Rodriguez taking over! He hit one 3-pointer off a Darius Theus steal, then came down a possession later and drilled another trey while getting fouled on the wing. He hit the free throw and has extended VCU’s lead to 55-42 with 12:06 remaining. Rodriguez has 21 points in a blink.

8:10: Rodriguez rings the bell from the corner with a 3-pointer the Rams absolutely had to have. As is often the case, it started with defense, when Burgess intercepted a Saint Louis pass and got the ball moving up the floor. JRod adds a pair of free throws a short time later for his 13th and 14th points. VCU leads, 48-40, with 12:50 left.

8:07: Sanders hasn’t been shy about putting the ball on the floor tonight. He corralled a loose ball in the lane, took two dribbles and spun on Kyle Cassity for a basket. A short time later, he drove from the 3-point line and actually got to the hole, but couldn’t hit the layup. 41-36 VCU with 15:05 left.

8:00: Sloppy start to the second half for VCU. Burgess misses a layup, Sanders gambles on a steal attempt above the 3-point line, leaving Rodriguez matched up on 6-9 Willie Reed (easy bucket). Rodriguez then tries to hit Sanders down the floor, but has the pass picked off. Reed races down the floor for a dunk. 36-31 VCU with 17:40. It would be nice to see the Rams weather the storm and not lose all of the momentum they took into the locker room.

7:53: Upon further review of the box score, VCU is outscoring Saint Louis, 26-10 in the paint, 11-0 off turnovers, 10-0 on second chance opportunities and 9-0 on the fast break.

7:42: Sanders caps an outstanding first half by following a Joey Rodriguez miss with a buzzer-beating putback. Sanders had 14 points in the first half as VCU has surged to a 36-25 lead. The game was tied at 15-15 with 6:35 left, but VCU closed on a 21-10 burst. An outstanding six minutes for the Rams.

In all, Sanders had 14 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the first half. Honestly, it’s one of the better halves I’ve seen him play, period. Rodriguez has seven points and six assists.

7:40: Rozzell just took an alley-oop a laid the ball in over the top of a Saint Louis defender, crashing to the floor in the process. I’m not sure I can do justice to the play with words. What I can tell you was that is was so good and so athletic that Rozzell was given a standing ovation. 34-25 VCU with time winding down in the first.

7:38: For a team that is normally solid defensively, we’ve seen two straight missed assignments by Saint Louis. The first resulted in an easy dunk by Rozzell, the second a layup for Sanders.

7:30: Jamie Skeen just abused Cody Ellis with a spin move. 23-18 VCU with 4:15 left in the half. It’s also good to know that there is no love lost between the VCU fans and this CAA officiating crew.

7:26: Finally the Rams get something from the outside, as Brad Burgess buries a trey. Then, it’s Troy Daniels and Joey Rodriguez hitting consecutive bombs to push the Rams in front, 21-15. Majerus needs a timeout for Saint Louis. With the way that VCU plays the Rams fortunes can change so quickly.

7:24: The Rams need to shore up their work on the glass. They’re being outrebounded, 13-8 at this juncture by a team that is, by all accounts, like great on the boards. 12-11 VCU with 8:20 left in the first.

7:18: VCU has been aggressive to the rim in the opening minutes. They’re pounding the ball into Sanders at every opportunity. Even when they don’t get the rock to Sanders, VCU ball handlers like Ed Nixon, Joey Rodriguez and Brandon Rozzell have been putting the ball on the floor and charging to the basket. Now, if only they could actually put the ball in the basket. Sanders has 10 points and is 5-of-9 from the floor, while the the rest of the team is 1-of-6 for two points. 12-11 Rams with 11:00 left in the period.

7:17: Kwamain Mitchell, Saint Louis’ leading scorer, limps off the floor. It appears his right leg is really giving him trouble. 11-10 Saint Louis with 11:45 left in the first half.

7:16: Larry Sanders 8, Saint Louis 8.

7:14: VCU has missed seven of its first 10 field goal attempts. Sanders accounts for all three makes and seven of those attempts.

7:12: Sanders rips the ball at midcourt and is all alone for a couple of dribbles and a dunk. He has all six Rams’ points. 8-6 St. Louis.

7:09: After a switch, Saint Louis had 6-6 Brian Conklin posting up Joey Rodriguez for what seemed like forever. But by the they finally got him the ball, Larry Sanders was there to help and Conklin traveled. A missed opportunity for the Billikens. Frankly, it’s been kind of a rock fight in the first five minutes. The Rams have missed a number of shots from close range.

7:07: Sanders with four early, including a lob from Rodriguez for a dunk. 4-2 Rams, early.

7:05: Attendance looks a little better tonight. I’d assume we could be in the 4,000 range.

7:00: Cody Ellis and Kyle Cassity have some serious heads of hair. One random fan was berating them pregame, asking if there were any barbers in St. Louis. They both have long and curly hair. They could play a couple of the Greg and Peter Brady in the Brady Bunch reunion.

6:58: The crew from Joey’s Hot Dogs has scored some nice seats on the east baseline for tonight’s game. They’re all wearing black “Joey’s Hot Dogs” t-shirts, which makes them look a little like the Joey Rodriguez Fan Club. From afar, all you can see is JOEY on the shirts.

6:49: Starting lineups:
VCU
F Larry Sanders (is this his final home game?)
G Joey Rodriguez (Ranks third in VCU single-season history with 200 assists. Eric Maynor holds the top two spots with 224 and 210.
G Bradford Burgess
F Jamie Skeen (Averaging 13.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg in three CBI games)
G Ed Nixon

SAINT LOUIS
G Kwamain Mitchell (16. 3ppg, 3.0 apg)
G Christian Salecich (6.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
G Kyle Cassity (6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
F Cody Ellis (10.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
F Willie Reed (12.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg)

6:45: I’ve got to have a talk with HDNet Color Commentator Craig Ehlo. Three games and three pairs of white socks. Look Craig, I realize you didn’t make Michael Jordan money in the NBA, but you’ve gotta mix in some dress socks.

6:14: What the heck is a Billiken? Well, I’ll show you, but after reading this, it doesn’t make the mascot any cooler.