Game 5: VCU vs. Towson - Second Half Update
> Live on-location in Richmond, VA at the CAA Tournament
Hey everyone! I apologize for the delays in postings, the website was down but not to worry I’ve been keeping a running tally of my thoughts. Things just went final with VCU winning 57-46. I’ll be back later with post game thoughts!
1:00 PM - Halftime
After being stunned into silence for the majority of the first half, this crowd just erupted as Eric Maynor his a spot up three with time winding down in the half to give VCU its current 25-22 lead at the break.
What an entertaining first half of basketball. It was close the whole way with neither VCU nor Towson shooting particularly well (38% and 36% respectively) yet despite everything, the Tigers are right in this one. Maynor’s huge three certainly took some air out of them and their fans as they headed to the locker room though.
Josh Thornton didn’t score a point in the final ten minutes of the half, which certainly slowed down the Towson offense. Neither team scored much though, including a nearly seven minute scoring drought in the middle of the half. In all it’s been kind of an ugly basketball game, but exciting none the less because, well, it’s close and a 9 seed is hanging with the top dog right now. At the half the Larry Sanders watch currently stands at 6 points, 6 rebounds and one nice block; not a bad performance, but nothing spectacular yet aside from the block.
I hope this crowd continues to be as loud as they were in the final couple minutes of the half, because they get LOUD. When Sanders hit a tough lay up to give VCU their first lead of the game at 20-19, it was like an explosion the amount of noise that just enveloped the arena.
On a side note, both pep bands have been on their game so far. I thought Towson’s decision to play the Sportscenter theme song was a nice touch since this game is being shown on ESPN 360. VCU’s band has been probably the loudest I’ve heard thus far, which complements their fans rather nicely. Well time to settle in for the second half, 5 minutes to go until the second half with neither team back on the floor just yet, but it should be a fantastic final 20 minutes!
1:07 PM
Larry Sanders watch update! The big fella just threw down a big dunk to rile up the crowd, and VCU has pushed their lead to seven.
1:10 PM
Holy cow he did it again! One power dribble and up and the crowd loves it! Timeout was called by Towson and they need to come up with something soon, VCU is up nine and looks ready to bust this one open.
1:12 PM
Houston we have lift off. VCU’s press just forced a 10-second violation against the Tigers. As the crowd went nuts and Old Dominion chant was started up behind me by several ODU fans. Perhaps already preparing for a future match up?
1:16 PM
C.C. Williams just air balled a three-pointer for Towson to send us to the first official timeout of the half; I think that play beautifully sums up the first four minutes for the Tigers. The Towson pep band looks so dejected right now, even as they valiantly play on. It’s like the Titanic, the ship is sinking, but the band plans on. 33-22 VCU leads it and is looking strong.
1:20 PM
Towson just used up their last timeout of the game with 15:25 to go and trailing by 11 points. Pat Kennedy is clearing employing a style of coaching that I haven’t seen in my time covering the sport.
1:26 PM
Eric Maynor just knifed his was through three Towson defenders for a gorgeous lay up high off the backboard. On the ensuing Tigers possession, Larry Sanders came up with another block. Every time he does this the VCU student section starts chanting “Laaarrryyy Sander”. Towson ended their nearly seven minute scoring drought thanks to a Tim Crossin lay up, but they still have work to do trailing 36-25 at the 13:11 mark.
1:31 PM
Well the 12 minute official time out just went into action and Towson is still hanging around. They haven’t been hitting their shots and holding onto the ball this half, but VCU hasn’t really taken huge advantage of this fact. So with 11:11 to go the Rams only lead it 36-30, boy is this ugly.
1:37 PM
Nobody can hit a shot right now. It’s poor shot after poor shot and fouls back and forth on both ends. VCU finally hit the front end of a 1-and-1, thank you T.J. Gwynn Jr.
1:40 PM
At the 7:53 mark we’re still in a tight one, 38-32 VCU leads it. I can’t wait to see what the shooting percentages for these two teams are once I get to a stat monitor. This is the type of game that Dr. James Naismith would have loved. Jamal Shuler just missed an open corner three a few moments ago and a VCU fan behind me kicked the seat in front of him so hard I thought the kid sitting in it was going to be ejected onto the court.
1:45 PM
Maynor just hit a driving lay up and the foul to put VCU up eight with 5:46 to play. I don’t want to completely jinx myself here but if he hits the free throw I say game for the Rams.
1:46 PM
He missed the free throw, this could be interesting.
1:48 PM
Maynor is back at the free throw line and an Old Dominion fan behind me screamed “Hey Maynor, don’t choke!” Maynor hit both free throws…I guess ODU got what he asked for.
1:50 PM
Jamal Shuler just hit an open corner three, and Larry Sanders pinned another shot off the backboard, smiling as he ran back down the floor. VCU leads 47-36 with 4:06 to go; now I’m calling it a game.
1:53 PM
There’s a jumbo screen at the end of the arena showing the ESPN 360 broadcast of this game. On an inbounds Eric Maynor got the ball and stopped to watch himself for a minute, you can’t beat that. Also, Sanders strikes again with a two-handed jam that almost brought the house down. The student section is still chanting his name, VCU up 11.
2:00 PM
Towson just hit a three to cut it down to 53-46 with one minute to go, now we get to play the fouling game. Maynor is at the line though and he’s been shooting it well. I suspect that a missed field goal by Towson and a couple of successful trips to the charity stripe will have Pat Kenney call the dogs off.
Hey everyone! I apologize for the delays in postings, the website was down but not to worry I’ve been keeping a running tally of my thoughts. Things just went final with VCU winning 57-46. I’ll be back later with post game thoughts!
1:00 PM - Halftime
After being stunned into silence for the majority of the first half, this crowd just erupted as Eric Maynor his a spot up three with time winding down in the half to give VCU its current 25-22 lead at the break.
What an entertaining first half of basketball. It was close the whole way with neither VCU nor Towson shooting particularly well (38% and 36% respectively) yet despite everything, the Tigers are right in this one. Maynor’s huge three certainly took some air out of them and their fans as they headed to the locker room though.
Josh Thornton didn’t score a point in the final ten minutes of the half, which certainly slowed down the Towson offense. Neither team scored much though, including a nearly seven minute scoring drought in the middle of the half. In all it’s been kind of an ugly basketball game, but exciting none the less because, well, it’s close and a 9 seed is hanging with the top dog right now. At the half the Larry Sanders watch currently stands at 6 points, 6 rebounds and one nice block; not a bad performance, but nothing spectacular yet aside from the block.
I hope this crowd continues to be as loud as they were in the final couple minutes of the half, because they get LOUD. When Sanders hit a tough lay up to give VCU their first lead of the game at 20-19, it was like an explosion the amount of noise that just enveloped the arena.
On a side note, both pep bands have been on their game so far. I thought Towson’s decision to play the Sportscenter theme song was a nice touch since this game is being shown on ESPN 360. VCU’s band has been probably the loudest I’ve heard thus far, which complements their fans rather nicely. Well time to settle in for the second half, 5 minutes to go until the second half with neither team back on the floor just yet, but it should be a fantastic final 20 minutes!
1:07 PM
Larry Sanders watch update! The big fella just threw down a big dunk to rile up the crowd, and VCU has pushed their lead to seven.
1:10 PM
Holy cow he did it again! One power dribble and up and the crowd loves it! Timeout was called by Towson and they need to come up with something soon, VCU is up nine and looks ready to bust this one open.
1:12 PM
Houston we have lift off. VCU’s press just forced a 10-second violation against the Tigers. As the crowd went nuts and Old Dominion chant was started up behind me by several ODU fans. Perhaps already preparing for a future match up?
1:16 PM
C.C. Williams just air balled a three-pointer for Towson to send us to the first official timeout of the half; I think that play beautifully sums up the first four minutes for the Tigers. The Towson pep band looks so dejected right now, even as they valiantly play on. It’s like the Titanic, the ship is sinking, but the band plans on. 33-22 VCU leads it and is looking strong.
1:20 PM
Towson just used up their last timeout of the game with 15:25 to go and trailing by 11 points. Pat Kennedy is clearing employing a style of coaching that I haven’t seen in my time covering the sport.
1:26 PM
Eric Maynor just knifed his was through three Towson defenders for a gorgeous lay up high off the backboard. On the ensuing Tigers possession, Larry Sanders came up with another block. Every time he does this the VCU student section starts chanting “Laaarrryyy Sander”. Towson ended their nearly seven minute scoring drought thanks to a Tim Crossin lay up, but they still have work to do trailing 36-25 at the 13:11 mark.
1:31 PM
Well the 12 minute official time out just went into action and Towson is still hanging around. They haven’t been hitting their shots and holding onto the ball this half, but VCU hasn’t really taken huge advantage of this fact. So with 11:11 to go the Rams only lead it 36-30, boy is this ugly.
1:37 PM
Nobody can hit a shot right now. It’s poor shot after poor shot and fouls back and forth on both ends. VCU finally hit the front end of a 1-and-1, thank you T.J. Gwynn Jr.
1:40 PM
At the 7:53 mark we’re still in a tight one, 38-32 VCU leads it. I can’t wait to see what the shooting percentages for these two teams are once I get to a stat monitor. This is the type of game that Dr. James Naismith would have loved. Jamal Shuler just missed an open corner three a few moments ago and a VCU fan behind me kicked the seat in front of him so hard I thought the kid sitting in it was going to be ejected onto the court.
1:45 PM
Maynor just hit a driving lay up and the foul to put VCU up eight with 5:46 to play. I don’t want to completely jinx myself here but if he hits the free throw I say game for the Rams.
1:46 PM
He missed the free throw, this could be interesting.
1:48 PM
Maynor is back at the free throw line and an Old Dominion fan behind me screamed “Hey Maynor, don’t choke!” Maynor hit both free throws…I guess ODU got what he asked for.
1:50 PM
Jamal Shuler just hit an open corner three, and Larry Sanders pinned another shot off the backboard, smiling as he ran back down the floor. VCU leads 47-36 with 4:06 to go; now I’m calling it a game.
1:53 PM
There’s a jumbo screen at the end of the arena showing the ESPN 360 broadcast of this game. On an inbounds Eric Maynor got the ball and stopped to watch himself for a minute, you can’t beat that. Also, Sanders strikes again with a two-handed jam that almost brought the house down. The student section is still chanting his name, VCU up 11.
2:00 PM
Towson just hit a three to cut it down to 53-46 with one minute to go, now we get to play the fouling game. Maynor is at the line though and he’s been shooting it well. I suspect that a missed field goal by Towson and a couple of successful trips to the charity stripe will have Pat Kenney call the dogs off.
posted by Joey, Staff at
2:06 PM
