Boxscore

Photo courtesy of Mark Campbell

RICHMOND, Va. -- The University of Delaware men’s basketball team’s second-half comeback effort fell short as fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University posted a 66-49 victory over the Blue Hens in first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Championships Friday afternoon at the Richmond Coliseum.

The Rams, who improved to 21-8 and won their fourth of the last five games, move on to face fourth-seeded George Mason Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the tournament quarterfinals. Delaware, which ended the season with a seven-game losing streak, concluded the year with a 7-24 mark. The 24 losses are the second most in a single season in UD history.

First team all-conference selection and CAA Defensive Player of the Year Larry Sanders posted his 11 double-double of the year with game-highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds for VCU, which won for the 13th time in the last 14 meetings with the Blue Hens. Sanders was out while serving a suspension during the teams’ only regular season meeting, a 77-64 Rams victory at the Siegel Center on January 9.

Point guard Joey Rodriguez added 12 points for VCU, while Bradford Burgess was the other Ram in double figures as he finished with 10 points.

Blue Hen junior guard Alphonso Dawson (at right) was the only Blue Hen in double figures with 13 points to go with a team-best six rebounds. Jawan Carter, who had his 23-game double figure scoring streak halted, finished with eight points, while Malcolm Hawkins chipped in with seven points. Adam Pegg and Hakim McCullar each contributed six points for the Blue Hens.

Delaware stayed with Rams early, as a three-pointer by D.J. Boney tied the game at 8-8 with 15:34 remaining in the first half. But the Blue Hens then went scoreless for six and a half minutes, and VCU scored nine straight points on a Rodriguez three-pointer, two Sanders baskets and a jumper by Burgess to take a 17-8 advantage.

McCullar answered with a pair of turnaround jumpers for Delaware, but three-pointers by Rodriguez and Troy Daniels made it a 23-12 Rams lead at the 7:05 mark. However Delaware would respond, as Jamelle Hagins scored inside and Pegg converted a putback to bring the Blue Hens within seven.

But the Rams countered with eight consecutive points, highlighted by a jumper and a three-pointer by Burgess, to put VCU ahead 31-16 and force a UD timeout with 4:04 on the clock.

Carter stopped the spurt by draining a three-pointer from the left corner, and Pegg scored on Delaware’s next possession as the Blue Hens closed to within 31-21. However T.J. Gwynn completed a three-point play and Ed Nixon drained a three-pointer just before the buzzer as the Rams took their largest lead of the half, 37-21, into the break.

A Dawson jumper and two free throws by Carter brought Delaware within 39-25 with 18 minutes to play, but Sanders scored twice and then found Jamie Skeen inside as the Rams lead grew to 20 points.

VCU went up 50-27 on a three-pointer by Brandon Rozzell before a three-point play by Dawson, a dunk by Hagins and a foul line jumper by Edwin Santiago made it a 50-34 game at the 11:25 mark.

VCU led 53-36 following a Rodriguez free throw, but Dawson nailed a three-pointer and Pegg scored on a jump hook as Delaware continued its comeback and got within 53-41 with 7:48 remaining.

However Sanders followed his own miss with a dunk, Rozzell connected from long range and Rodriguez hit a layup to push the Rams lead back to 19, and the Blue Hens would not threaten again.

“VCU is a well-schooled, experienced team, and it showed today,” said Blue Hen head coach Monté Ross, who finished his fourth season at Delaware. “They made shots early which was very important for them. We came back and had some chances; our kids fought hard all season,especially today. VCU just did a great job of pressuring us, and they forced us into some key turnovers.”

VCU held a 39-29 rebounding advantage, and the Rams helped their cause by connecting on 9 of 23 three-point attempts, including a 7 of 11 performance from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.