Virginia Commonwealth advances
Virginia Commonwealth forward Jamie Skeen (21) shoots over Southern California forward Alex Stepheson in the first half of a first-round NCAA college basketball tournament game. (March 16, 2011) Credit: AP
DAYTON, Ohio -- It might not have looked pretty to others. It was a masterpiece for Virginia Commonwealth.
Jamie Skeen scored 16 points and VCU more than held its own inside against bigger and stronger Southern California to beat the Trojans, 59-46, last night in the finale of the NCAA's inaugural "First Four" tournament games at the University of Dayton Arena.
The 11th-seeded teams traded elbows and punishing defense all night, with the Rams (24-11) pulling away down the stretch to set up a game against sixth-seeded Georgetown (21-10) Friday in Chicago.
Joey Rodriguez had eight points and five assists for VCU.
Jio Fontan had 14 points and Nikola Vucevic 11 for USC (19-15), which had just one field goal in the final 9 minutes.
Even though the Trojans started two 6-10 wide-bodies inside, the Rams held a 40-31 edge in rebounding.
Vucevic, a first-team All-Pac-10 performer, had 14 rebounds and Alex Stepheson added 10.
Maligned by some as unworthy of the NCAA field, the Rams played tight defense, survived the deep foul trouble that plagued both teams and hit big shots in the final minutes.
After trailing by as many as five points in the first half, the Rams broke free in the second half with their three-point shooting. Skeen hit a trey to open the second-half scoring and Rodriguez -- scoreless to that point -- hit two three-pointers for a 28-24 lead. After Maurice Jones countered by hitting USC's first three-pointer of the game, VCU's Brandon Rozzell hit another shot behind the arc to push the lead to 34-27 at the 14:25 mark. The Rams would never give up the lead.
The Rams, who received their first at-large bid since 1983-84, are making their 10th trip to the big tournament and have a 6-9 all-time record.
for the Roadrunners (20-13), who will play top-seeded Ohio State Friday in the East Regional.
Tramayne Moorer and Jeff Middlebrooks had 12 points apiece for Alabama State, which had the worst record in the expanded 68-team tournament.
The Roadrunners came to Dayton with a stated goal: UTSA had never won an NCAA Tournament game of any sort. Now, they've got reason to raise a banner in their 4,080-seat UTSA Convocation Center.
Might as well let Johnson pick the spot. The 6-5 guard did everything. He scored off drives to the hoop and made fall-away jumpers from every spot, hardly missing in the first half. Johnson was 8 of 14, making one less field goal than all the Hornets combined.
He also got to shoot four free throws after a pair of technicals on the Hornets. He made 'em all, of course.
Johnson even connected while sitting on the court after getting fouled in the second half. He playfully flipped the ball at the basket, and it went in.
UTSA's front line took control during a 17-4 opening run that put the scent of a blowout at University of Dayton Arena. The Roadrunners got 14 of the first 18 rebounds, repeatedly giving themselves second chances after a miss.
-- AP
