Video: VCU defeats St. Joseph’s in OT thriller

Darius Theus scored 22 points including a coast-to-coast layup that sent the game into overtime.

Down four with just 14 seconds left on the clock, VCU point guard Darius Theus inbounded the ball to Troy Daniels who connected on his only shot of the night, a 3-pointer in front of the Rams bench that gave the capacity crowd reason to believe.

VCU was forced to foul on the other end, and after St. Joseph’s big man Ronald Roberts hit just one of his two free throws, Theus immediately drove the distance of the court and hit the game-tying layup that would send the game into overtime.

After drawing a charge on St. Joseph’s first offensive possession, Juvonte Reddic slammed home a dunk that would set the tone of extended time.

One minute and a missed St. Joseph’s 3-point later, Treveon Graham connected on a three of his own, getting fouled in the process and connecting on the free throw to complete the 4-point play.

That early dagger was a part of a 12-3 opening run that would lead VCU (15-3, 3-0) to a thrilling 92-86 win, their 12th straight.

Treveon Graham led all players with a game-high 25 points on the night. Graham was 10-17 from the field including a hot 4-7 from long range and added seven rebounds in the win.

Theus was one of two Rams to post a double-double, scoring 22 points to go along with a game-high 10 assists. The Senior point guard added four steals and had zero turnovers in his 37 minutes of play.

The other player was Juvonte Reddic with 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Rob Brandenberg rounds out the list of double-digit scorers for the Rams. The Junior guard had 12 points in the win.

The Rams forced 20 turnovers on the night but had their hands full trying to contain an experienced St. Joseph’s (9-6, 1-2) group that returned every player from last season’s team and was picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10 this season.

VCU surrendered a season-high 86 points on a night the Hawks connected on 52.3 percent of their attempts including 9-22 from beyond the 3-point line.

The Rams head to Duquesne (7-10, 0-3) this Saturday before returning to Richmond for a road game at UofR on the 24th.

The Rams then return to the Siegel Center the following Saturday, January 26th, in an 8PM home tip against the Explorers of La Salle University (12-4, 2-1).

VCU v St. Joseph’s from VCU Ram Nation on Vimeo.