Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Troy Daniels and Treveon Graham helped VCU
overcome a 17-point second half deficit as the No. 24 Rams handed Xavier a
rare conference loss at home with a 75-71 victory Saturday at Cintas
Center.
Daniels scored 14 of his 19 points after halftime and Graham added 17 for the
game as VCU (22-6, 10-3 A-10) outscored Xavier 49-32 over the final 20 minutes
to bounce back after a loss to Saint Louis on Tuesday.
Rob Brandenberg added 18 points and Juvonte Reddic totaled 10 with nine
rebounds in the victory, which moved the Rams into sole possession of second
place in the conference after Butler fell to the Atlantic 10-leading Billikens
on Friday.
The Musketeers (15-11, 8-5) had 22 turnovers in suffering just their second
home defeat to a conference foe since 2007. Semaj Christon had 10 of those
giveaways while scoring 11 points along with Justin Martin and Isaiah
Philmore.
Dee Davis and Brad Redford paced Xavier with 15 points apiece in the setback.
Xavier jumped out to a 39-26 lead at the half and VCU trailed by as many as 17
points in the early moments of the second stanza, but Daniels and Graham led a
24-5 surge that rallied the Rams to a 50-48 advantage.
Daniels began the run with consecutive triples and after making a layup,
Graham added a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 48-48. Teddy Okereafor's bucket
with just under 11 minutes left to play then put the Rams ahead and erased
VCU's double-digit deficit.
From there, the advantage changed hands eight times, with Xavier leading by as
many as three before surrendering the lead for good down the stretch.
Redford made four of his five 3-pointers in the second half, with his last two
both helping Xavier to regain a 63-61 advantage, but it was Daniels whose
timely triples proved to be difference.
Daniels immediately responded to Redford's last 3-pointer with one of his own
to stake VCU to a 64-63 edge with 5:17 left. He then buried another triple a
little over a minute later to expand the lead to four, and the Musketeers
never went back in front.
Trailing by three in the final minute, Xavier had three possessions to cut
into the lead, but were unsuccessful on each opportunity. Brandenberg then
sank
a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left to move VCU's edge to 73-68 and all
but seal the win.
The Musketeers shot a scorching 73.7 percent in the first half, and a 13-3
surge capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Redford and Davis gave Xavier a
28-14 lead almost 15 minutes into the contest.
The Rams struggled offensively throughout the initial stanza, converting just
30.3 percent (10-for-33) of their attempts from the field and trailing by
13 at the break on Davis' 3-point play at the end of the half.
GAME NOTES:
Xavier had won 52 of its last 53 home games against conference opponents
coming in ... VCU held the Musketeers to 39.1 percent shooting over the final
20 minutes ... The Rams shot 53.1 percent in the second half, while shooting
6-for-11 from 3-point range ... VCU scored 23 points off Xavier's 22
turnovers.
The Sports Network