Flyers and Rams mix it up in A-10 action

Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) – The 22nd-ranked Virginia Commonwealth Rams will try to recover from a heart-wrenching loss Wednesday night as they get set to host the Dayton Flyers in a key Atlantic 10 Conference battle at the Siegel Center.

VCU was rolling on a three-game win streak until the Rams met up with Richmond on the road Wednesday. The Spiders gave them everything they could handle in a 67-63 double-overtime Richmond victory. The loss for the Rams set them back to 11-4 against A-10 opposition, but VCU enters the matchup Saturday sporting a healthy 11-3 record on its home court.

Dayton bounced back from a loss last weekend with a convincing 76-63 win over George Mason Wednesday night. The Flyers head to VCU with an identical 11-4 record in conference play, but will need to overcome a sub-par 4-5 record on the road if they want to defeat the Rams and keep pace atop the A-10 standings.

VCU and Dayton have met on the court six times in their series history. The Rams own five of those six victories, and have taken down the Flyers in three consecutive head-to-head meetings. This is the only regular-season matchup between the programs this year.

Both Dayton and George Mason shot the ball well from the floor on Wednesday, as each team connected on at least 53.1 percent of their attempts from the floor. But huge advantages from beyond the 3-point arc and from the free-throw line helped the host Flyers cruise by the Patriots. Jordan Sibert was at the heart of the win once again, netting 24 points to pace the team in scoring. Kendall Pollard chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Kyle Davis added 13 points for Dayton, which shot 9-of-17 from 3-point distance in the win.

Sibert finds himself in a pool of strong A-10 scorers, as he heads into the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. The Flyers star is averaging 16.4 ppg this season on 44.6 percent shooting, adding in a team high with 44 steals. Dyshawn Pierre is right behind Sibert in the scoring department, netting 13.1 ppg with a team-best 8.0 rpg. Pollard rounds out a trio of double-digit scorers for Dayton this season, netting 12.1 ppg and owning a team-high 24 blocked shots. The Flyers as a unit are collecting 69.2 ppg this season on 46.6 percent shooting, and have played at a high level defensively by allowing opponents to net 61.0 ppg, which ranks fourth in the conference.

Richmond blew a nine-point lead at halftime over VCU, allowing the visiting Rams to make a comeback in the second half to knot the score at the end of regulation. VCU took a one-point lead early in the second overtime session, but Richmond took a 60-59 lead on a Terry Allen jumper with 3:27 left to play – a lead the Spiders would not give up as they held on down the stretch over the Rams. Treveon Graham netted 25 points to pace VCU in the loss, adding in 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. Jequan Lewis was on the cusp of his own double-double with 15 points and eight boards. Four players for the Rams pulled down at least eight rebounds in the game, but VCU only got 11 points from its bench in the entire contest.

Graham is VCU’s version of Dayton’s Sibert. The senior guard is averaging a team-high 16.6 ppg this season, which ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference. His 6.6 rpg mark is the best on the squad, and he’s shooting a healthy 45.1 percent from the floor on the year. Melvin Johnson is the only other VCU player to average a double-digit scoring total this season at 12.6 ppg, though his seven points against Richmond Wednesday didn’t help his average. Senior guard Briante Weber, who is out after undergoing knee surgery, will be missed the rest of the way, especially after leading the team with 85 assists. VCU is netting 73.5 ppg this season (second in the conference), and is giving up 65.4 ppg to opponents.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball