After losing to the Patriots of George Mason in regular season play, the Rams were determined to force a different outcome. Brandon Rozzell, guard, made sure that the Rams didn’t slip by hitting 4 huge three pointers in the 2nd half to carry the Rams against GMU.

Looking to lead the season series over the ODU Monarchs, the Rams came out looking tough against the regular season champs. The Rams pulled ahead by 12 at one point but losing a large lead has been the Rams “M.O.” this season as they were dropped by the Monarchs in Sunday’s Semifinal.

Can’t make it to the game? Join us here, in our live blog chat room at 3PM for live play by play and score updates.

The teams traded buckets in a game that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes. Then, with the score tied at 53, VCU shifted into an extra gear and never looked back.

Rozzell hit back-to-back threes to extend VCU’s lead to 6. The Rams took that momentum and ended the game on a 22-7 run, resulting in a 75-60 win which secured a date against ODU in the conference semi-finals.

Rozzell ended the game with 14 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arch.

Larry Sanders and Joey Rodriguez had 17 points each in the win. Sanders added 12 rebounds and 4 blocks for his second double double of the tournament.

Rodriguez lead all players with 5 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds to go along with his two steals on the day.

The Rams had trouble containing forward Ryan Pearson who lead all scorers with 22 points.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, Pearson wasn’t enough as only one other player, freshman Luke Hancock, found double digits.

The Rams held Mason to just 25 second half points on 39% shooting.

Junior guard Cam Long was responsible for sending the regular season meeting into overtime, but was held to just 4 points, going 2-12 from the field.

The win moves VCU to 22-8 heading into a rematch with Old Dominion, who handed VCU its last loss of the season exactly one week ago.

Tip off is at 3PM with the winner moving on to the Final on Monday night.

The win was the first of four needed victories in order to earn the automatic bid and repeat as CAA champs. No team has ever won four in a row.

Larry Sanders dominated the Blue Hens to the tune of 15 points, 13 boards, and 3 blocks. This afternoon was the first time Larry has hit double digit scoring since being named CAA Player of the Week two weeks ago. Sanders averaged just 6 points in VCU’s final two games of the regular season, a win over JMU and a 3 point road loss at Old Dominion.

The Rams were able to build an early lead with some hot long range shooting, hitting 58% of their three pointers in the first half.

Bradford Burgess and Joey Rodriguez hit 5 of the Rams 7 first half threes.

Rodriguez finished with 12 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals on the afternoon. Burgess rounded out VCU’s double digit scorers at 10 points, all coming in the first half.

The win advances VCU to the second round where they will face George Mason in a rematch of a February 6th overtime loss.

A point here, a stop there, and VCU might have avoided the 5th seed and the challenge of having to become the first team to ever win four straight games to win a CAA title. Well they didn’t…so history starts TODAY!

Live blog, comin atchya…2:30PM. Chat it up with Ram Nation as we watch VCU take on the Delaware Blue Hens in first round CAA tournament action!

The party kicks off at 5:00 and lasts as long as you wanna be there, be it a full belly, closing time, or when you’re ready to watch the next session’s games. Food specials on pizza, nachos, quesadillas, not to mention happy hour drink specials!

Hope to see you there and GO RAMS!

Sanders defended his title as CAA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming only the second player in conference history to earn back-to-back DPOY honors. Larry’s 67 blocks are the 24th most in the NCAA, third in the CAA. His team leading 8.9 rebounds per game are the second highest in the CAA.

Sanders also earned First Team All-CAA honors alongside Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins (this year’s CAA Player of the Year), Northeastern’s Chaisson Allen and Matt Janning, and Old Dominion’s Gerald Lee.

Joey Rodriguez’s league leading 6 assists, and 1.9 steals per contest helped land him CAA Second Team honors. Rodriguez is averaging 3.5 more assists since moving to the point guard spot vacated by last year’s CAA Player of the Year, Eric Maynor. Joey’s points are up as well averaging an even 12 a night, good for 2nd on the team and 15th in the conference.

2009-10 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS

First Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Chaisson Allen, Northeastern Jr. G 6-4 190 Murfreesboro, Tenn./Oakland
Matt Janning, Northeastern Sr. G/F 6-4 198 Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer
Charles Jenkins, Hofstra Jr. G 6-3 220 Queens, N.Y./Springfield Gardens
Gerald Lee, Old Dominion Sr. C/F 6-10 250 Uusikaupunki, Finland/Korihait
Larry Sanders, VCU Jr. F 6-11 235 Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie

Second Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Denzel Bowles, James Madison Jr. F 6-10 255 Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville
Jawan Carter, Delaware Jr. G 5-11 185 Chester, Pa./Tatnall
Cam Long, George Mason Jr. G 6-4 188 Palm Bay, Fla./Freedom (Va.)
Joey Rodriguez, VCU Jr. G 5-10 175 Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell
David Schneider, William & Mary Sr. G 6-3 190 Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep

Third Team All-CAA Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Joe Dukes, Georgia State Sr. G 6-1 184 Cuthbert, Ga./Randolph Clay
Ben Finney, Old Dominion Jr. G/F 6-5 220 Portsmouth, Va./Norcom
Jamie Harris, Drexel Jr. G 5-10 175 New York, N.Y./Wings Academy
Quinn McDowell, William & Mary So. G/F 6-6 212 Mason, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller
Julius Wells, James Madison So. F 6-5 200 Toledo, Ohio/Libbey

2010 CAA Player of the Year – Charles Jenkins, Hofstra
2010 CAA Coach of the Year – Tony Shaver, William and Mary
2010 CAA Rookie of the Year – Chris Fouch, Drexel
2010 CAA Defensive Player of the Year – Larry Sanders, VCU
2010 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award – David Schneider, William and Mary

CAA All-Rookie Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Chris Fouch, Drexel Fr. G 6-2 170 New York, N.Y./Rice
Luke Hancock, George Mason Fr. F 6-5 189 Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley
Halil Kanacevic, Hofstra Fr. F 6-8 245 Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis
Darren White, James Madison Fr. G 6-3 200 Danville, Va./Dan River
Chaz Williams, Hofstra Fr. G 5-9 170 Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford

CAA All-Defensive Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Chaisson Allen, Northeastern Jr. G 6-4 190 Murfreesboro, Tenn./Oakland
Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion So. G/F 6-5 190 Kelford, N.C./Bertie
Robert Nwankwo, Towson Jr. F 6-8 220 Upper Marlboro, Md./Parkdale
Larry Sanders, VCU Jr. F 6-11 235 Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie
Greg Washington, Hofstra Jr. F 6-10 215 Centereach, N.Y./Central Islip

CAA All-Academic First Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Baptiste Bataille, Northeastern Sr. G 5-10 189 Ferin, France/Community Christian
Trian Iliadis, Old Dominion So. G 6-3 185 Perth, Western Australia/Gwelp
Darion Jeralds, UNC Wilmington Sr. G 6-1 165 Winston-Salem, N.C./West Forsyth
Brian Morris, Towson Jr. G 6-6 185 Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity
David Schneider, William & Mary Sr. G 6-3 190 Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep

CAA All-Academic Second Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Jihad Ali, Georgia State So. G 6-5 195 Atlanta, Ga./Martin Luther King
Matt Janning, Northeastern Sr. G/F 6-4 198 Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer
Marcus Kitts, William & Mary Jr. F 6-9 230 Holly Springs, N.C./Middle Creek
Quinn McDowell, William & Mary So. G/F 6-6 212 Mason, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller
Miklos Szabo, Hofstra Sr. F 6-9 250 Szeghalom, Hungary/Broward C.C.

CAA All-Academic Hon. Mention Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Ben Felix, Northeastern So. C 6-11 240 Mill Bay, British Columbia/Berkshire
Brian McDonald, Northeastern Sr. G 6-2 180 Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug
Daniel Mercer, UNC Wilmington Sr. F 6-6 200 Raleigh, N.C./Broughton
Adam Pegg, Delaware So. C 6-9 255 Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater
Josh Sheets, UNC Wilmington Sr. G 6-4 205 Lafayette, Ind./Charis Prep