SAINTIL PLAYS SECOND-HALF SAINT IN VCU COMEBACK
By Chris Kowalczyk
12-12-09

After weeks of waiting, VCU finally received the post depth it sorely needed. You know, a dynamic big man who can score, rebound and block shots. A guy who was so impressive, his play elicited this response from Richmond Coach Chris Mooney.

“I thought he was great,” Mooney said. “He’s certainly a nice addition to their team. He’s very athletic, physical. He’s a very impressive guy to look at, and I think some of the things, his touch around the basket, his free throws and his pass, that really jumped out at me, that he’s even better than I thought.”

Jamie who? Heck no. He’s a game away. We’re talking about Terrance Saintil.

Playing in his first game of the season, Saintil energized VCU with 10 game-changing minutes, including seven in the second half, as VCU erased a nine-point deficit on the way to a 65-57 win over Richmond Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

With 18:09 remaining, 6-11 forward Larry Sanders picked up his third personal foul. At the time, the Rams trailed, 31-26, and had shown little energy or presence in the paint. Enter Saintil, who was returning from a torn right thumb ligament, which he suffered during the preseason.

Over the course of the next four-plus minutes, Saintil scored seven points, cranked up VCU’s defensive intensity to 11 and sparked a 13-0, game-altering rush.

“It felt great, I loved it,” Saintil said. “I’ve been waiting for six weeks. I got out there, did my thing. I liked it. I’m going to have a good time this year. “

After a jumper by Richmond’s Kevin Anderson gave the Spiders a 33-26 lead, Saintil picked up a steal and drew a foul. Despite his balky thumb, he knocked down a pair of free throws. On UR’s ensuing possession, the 6-8 sophomore rejected a shot by Justin Harper, grabbed the rebound and rushed down the floor, where he knocked down a left-handed hook. Moments later, Saintil took the ball on the right block, spun baseline and scored a basket, plus a foul. The traditional three-point play gave the Rams their first lead, at 35-33. A short time later, he fed Bradford Burgess on a bucket that pushed the Rams’ advantage to 39-33 with 13:46 remaining.

Saintil finished with a career-high seven points, two rebounds, two blocks, two steals and a pair of assists.  The performance bore stark contrast to his freshman campaign, when he averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in a limited role.

Although VCU had still had plenty of work to do in order to win the game, Saintil’s burst swung the momentum, and the crowd, irrevocably in the Rams’ favor. He even gave a shot in the arm to the rest of his own team.

“He came in the second half and he turned me around, totally,” said Larry Sanders, who finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. “My energy level was kind of low. I’ve been kind of drained from this past week, but just seeing him come out and perform like that, that made me hype.”

Saintil’s performance caught nearly everybody off guard, including VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart. Saintil was just cleared to play on Tuesday and struggled with the thumb in the Rams’ practices leading up to the game.

“Terrance is a guy who never ceases to amaze me,” Smart said. “My initial thought going into the game was, maybe we could get something out of him, maybe not, because it didn’t seem like he was 100 percent. He looked 100 percent to me [tonight]. He looked better than he’s ever been. He gave us an energy boost exactly when we needed it…Terrance was as critical to us winning that game as anybody.”

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