VCU came into it’s quarterfinal game a 9 point favorite over George Mason, …for most of the afternoon, the Patriots looked like a great bet. That is until Brandon Rozzell caught fire in the second half, hitting 4 monster threes to bust the game wide open.
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.
