RAMS RECHARGE, BLAST DREXEL BEHIND DEFENSE
By Chris Kowalczyk
2-16-10

Not all of losses are created equal. There are some that players can easily separate themselves from and move forward. Then, there are the losses so crushing that they hang like the smell of fish at the docks.

VCU rolled into the Verizon Wireless Arena with two of those unshakable losses hanging in the background Tuesday night. But the Rams team that failed to hold halftime leads at George Mason and James Madison last week was nowhere to be found. In its place was a supercharged defensive unit that stonewalled Drexel in an impressive 73-54 victory at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center.

Larry Sanders, who averaged 1.4 blocks in the 10 games leading up to Tuesday’s showdown, swatted five shots and altered countless others to key a signature defensive performance for VCU. Behind Sanders, the Rams forced the Dragons to shoot 36 percent (21-of-58) from the field. The Rams also outrebounded their CAA foes by a 45-26 margin.

“Our coaches tell me to come and play with unbelievable energy, that’s what I tried to bring, to try to talk and get my teammates involved,” Sanders said. “If that means we’re going to win then it’s worth it. That’s what I try to do to keep my energy up.”

Against George Mason on Feb. 9, the Patriots shot 50 percent in the second half and overtime to rally from a 13-point halftime deficit. At JMU on Saturday, VCU watched as the Dukes scored 43 points in the final 20 minutes to erase an eight-point VCU halftime lead. James Madison also scored on seven of its final eight possessions in its 76-71 victory.

“The main emphasis was coming out in the second half how we start the beginning of the game,” Sanders said. “That’s been our weakness all year. I think we did a great job of that tonight. It’s just something we’ve been working on in practice, when fatigue hits or when things slow down, and it carried over in the game.”

On Tuesday, VCU took a 33-21 halftime lead and pushed to a 46-28 margin in the first five minutes of the second period. Drexel never got closer than 13 points the rest of the night.

 Sanders was nearly flawless Tuesday, scoring 29 points on 13-of-15 shooting with a game-high 13 rebounds.

“If anybody didn’t think Larry Sanders was going to be a lottery pick, they should’ve watched this game, because we made him look like one tonight. He played well tonight,” Drexel Head Coach Bruiser Flint said.

Sanders wasn’t the only reason for VCU’s recent defensive shortcomings, but he can change a game like no other by dominating in the paint. If one of the Rams’ perimeter defenders gets beat, Sanders can be there to clean up the mess. In recent weeks, his presence in the middle faded. In his 10 previous games, Sanders didn’t have a single game of four or more blocks. He had seven such performances in his first 13 games of the season. VCU is 6-2 this year when Sanders blocks at least four shots.

“Sometimes I just get caught up in my mind with keeping my hands up in the air and trying not to foul so much that I pick up cheap ones or I’m not in the right position,” Sanders said. “I tried to just not think about that tonight. I tried to just play basketball and help out.”

When the Rams returned from Harrisonburg, Va. Saturday night, they met for about 90 minutes at the Siegel Center and tried to get to the heart of their issues - why they struggled to hold leads, how their defense had gotten so porous. They emerged a team revitalized. Drexel’s 54 points were the third least by a VCU opponent this season and the fewest since Nov. 23.

“I think, first, to fix the problem, we had to find out what the problem was, and it wasn’t offense, it was all defense,” Sanders said. “We just let teams make that run [in the second half] and then we’re down 10 or eight and try to fight back. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

“It hasn’t been only the last two games, it’s been a few of the games that we lost, we let up in the second half,” Sophomore Brad Burgess, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, said. “We just made it a point in the last two practices to stay on the gas in the second half and just keep doing what we’re doing and let it carry over.”

Could the Rams be conjuring up some déjà vu? After surrendering a late lead to Nevada in its 2009 ESPN BracketBusters game last year in Reno, Nev. VCU held a nearly-two hour meeting in the locker room to address its issues. The Rams returned home and ripped off five straight wins in dominant fashion, including a 71-50 victory over George Mason in the CAA title game. The Rams are currently 18-7 overall and tied with Drexel for fifth place in the CAA at 10-6.

“I think the main thing was that it wasn’t too late then,” Sanders said. “We ended up losing to UCLA by one point [in the NCAA Tournament]. That was our next loss. So, hopefully we can make that run right now, if everybody stays focused. We know what we have to do now after all the roller coasters through the season, hopefully we can stay on the right track now.”

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