VCU Holds Off Northeastern, 75-65
Richmond, Va. - Sophomore Rob Brandenberg scored a game-high 19
points knocked down three of the Rams' six second half three-point field goals
as second-seeded VCU forced 25 turnovers and turned aside seventh-seeded
Northeastern, 75-65, on Saturday evening in the quarterfinals of the 2012 CAA Men's Basketball Championship.
Seeking its first CAA crown
since 2009 and fifth overall, VCU (26-6) will face the winner of No. 3 George
Mason versus sixth-seeded Georgia
State contest on Sunday
at 4:30 p.m. in semifinal action.
The Rams got off to a quick
start and opened up an 11-3 lead at the 14:37 mark of the first half as sophomore
D.J. Haley converted a tip-in and senior Bradford Burgess connected on a deep
three-pointer, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
VCU extended its advantage to nine points on several occasions but were
held without a field goal over the final 6:22 of the opening half.
Despite 11 first half
turnovers, Northeastern registered an 8-0 run to knot the score at 26-26 at the
intermission, highlighted by three-pointers from junior Jonathan Lee and guard
Joel Smith.
VCU opened the second half
with a 10-2 run, sparked by five points from Burgess, to take a 36-28 lead at
the 16:56 mark of the second half. NU
closed to within 40-34 on a three-pointer by Lee but a pair of field goals from
beyond the arc by Brandenberg pushed the Rams' advantage to 48-38 with 11:52
remaining in the contest. VCU would
extend its lead to 64-43 at the 7:24 mark as freshman Treveon Graham scored six
consecutive points to bring the sellout crowd to its feet.
A pretty one-handed runner in
the lane by Lee with 70 seconds remaining pulled the Huskies to within 71-63
but the Rams hit four free throws down the stretch to advance to the semifinals
for the sixth consecutive year. Graham
finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Burgess added 10 points and a
pair of steals for VCU, which never trailed in the game and enjoyed an
astounding 46-4 advantage in bench scoring.
Smith and freshman Quincy
Ford scored 17 points apiece to lead Northeastern (14-17), which defeated
William & Mary (57-49) in opening round action on Friday. Ford added 11 rebounds for his second
double-double effort of the year. Lee
chipped in 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting for the Huskies, who shot 53.8 percent
(14-of-26) from the field in the second half.
VCU has now won 15 of its
last 16 contests, with its lone loss coming on a buzzer-beater at George Mason
(62-61) on Feb. 14.