Larry Sanders named CAA Men’s Basketball Co-player of the Week

Junior Larry Sanders averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in a pair of VCU wins last week. The junior center scored a career- high 23 points, grabbed nine boards and blocked four shots as the Rams rallied past East Carolina 82-74 and then had a game high 16 points and five rejections in just 19 minutes of a 91-57 win over UNC Wilmington. Sanders shot 53.8% for the week.

Sanders shares this weeks honor with Delaware’s Alphonso Dawson. The 6’4” junior guard averaged 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds as Delaware won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Who's Got Next: Northeastern

Northeastern and VCU will take matching four-game winning streaks into the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart Siegel Center tonight. Both teams come into the game 1-1 in the CAA,

This is the ninth all-time meeting between the two teams, and the Rams lead the series 5-3.

The Huskies are 2-2 against VCU in Richmond both teams have won twice, once in each other’s arena. This is the first time that the two teams will play a home-and-home in the regular season.

Northeastern is the only team to defeat the Rams in the past 22 home contests. The Huskies went into the Siegel Center and handed VCU its only home loss of the season, 68-63, after shooting 47.5 percent from the field and holding the Rams to 38.3 percent. VCU had more field goals than NU (23-19), but the Huskies connected on nine three-pointers and were 21-for-28 from the free throw line. Manny Adako and Eugene Spates each had 12 points

The Huskies are led by the talent backcourt of senior guard Matt Janning who is averaging 16.6 points per game and junior Chaisson Allen who is averaging 13.2 points per contest, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Tonight’s game is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m.

Game 11: VCU 91 - UNCW 57

Seahawk Smackdown: VCU rolls UNCW 91-57

@The Siegel

Box Score

Virginia Commonwealth ushered in the New Year by thoroughly dismantling UNC Wilmington to claim a 91-57 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Siegel Center Saturday afternoon.

The Rams opened the game with a 10-0 run, hitting 9 of their first 10 field goal attempts. VCU’s stifling defense held the Seahawks to just two field goals over the first 16 minutes of the contest.

UNCW shot a dismal 16.7 percent from the field and missed 29 of their first 31 field goals attempts, trailing by as many as 32 in the first half.

VCU’s full court pressure caused 15 first half turnovers helping the Rams amass a 43-17 lead at intermission.

Unfortunately, things did not get any better for the Seahawks in the second half. Head coach Benny Moss was forced to call his last time out with 17:54 left in the game, trailing 51-17 after the Rams scored the first eight points in the second frame.

With a little more 12 minutes left to play UNCW was just 10 of 52 from the field and had turned the ball over 23 times. The Seahawks finished 19 of 67 (28.4 percent) with 28 turnovers.

The VCU lead would reach as many as 46 in the second half.

All 14 players on the VCU roster scored at least once in the game. Junior Larry Sanders, who played just 5 minutes in the second half, led the way with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Junior Joey Rodriguez had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and added 5 assists and two steals and junior transfer Jamie Skeen finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Junior Chad Tomko led the way for UNC Wilmington with 14 points, while junior John Fields added 10 points and 9 rebounds down low for the Seahawks.

The Rams are riding a four game win streak improved to 9-2 overall and 1-1 in the CAA. The Seahawks lost their third straight and fourth in five outings to drop to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in CAA play.

The Rams close out a three-game homestand on Monday with a 7:30 match up against Northeastern. The Seahawks will travel to Williamsburg to battle William & Mary on Monday at 7 p.m.

Check me out at RVANews.com.

Video Hightlights of VCU/UNCW

This background music is getting old...

Live Blog! VCU/UNCW

Happy New Year Ram fans! What better way to start the year than with some college basketball. The Rams begin CAA play today with UNC Wilmington at 2 p.m.

There’s quite a bit of history between these two teams, although the last few years have taken a little bit of luster off a series that used to be one of the CAA’s best.

UNCW is 4-7 on the year against a tough schedule that includes losses to George Mason, Wake Forest, George Washington and Miami. The largest margin of victory against UNC Wilmington this year is just 11. A big reason for that success has been the inside presence of John Fields (13.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and the outside presence of Chad Tomko (15.5 ppg, 4.6 apg).

VCU is riding a three-game winning streak after posting close victories over Richmond, Tulane and East Carolina. The Rams have not lost since a 75-74 decision at CAA upstart William & Mary back on Dec 5.

30:00 mins before tip: The Siegel is incredibly quit right now. UNCW is on the floor for pregame warm-ups.

23:00 mins before tip: The Rams have taken the floor for their pre-game warm-ups. Larry is all smiles.

16:03 before tip: What is the new obsession with shin pads in basketball? I dont know what the chances are that one might get kicked in the shins. It's all about the fashion. Santil is rocking a pair..

11:00 mins before tip: Both teams have left the floor for their locker rooms.

4:00 mins before tip: The Total Package is getting into the pep band's version of the MJ classic Thriller!

3:35 mins before tip: VCU takes the floor to a lethargic applause from the VCU faithful.

Final Buzzer sounds before tip. UNCW looks focused. VCU looks relaxed and ready to battle. Our floor announcer is rolling his r's now for Joey's intro.

20:00 Lets get it on! UNCW takes the tip. Possession arrow for VCU. The student section is belting an ole style soccer chant.

18:59 VCU draws first blood as Burgess gets a second effort to go. VCU 2 - UNCW O.

18:00 UNCW wants to pound it inside but cant get anything to go. VCU is not doing much better. Still 2-0 VCU.

17:22 VCU is pressing to start the game. They earn a quick turn over for their effort.

17:06 VCU's newly eligible forward Skeen gets fouled on a inside put back. He sticks the charity shot to put VCU up 5-0 on the Seahawks.

16:45 Skeen is doing work inside! Another stick back for the Wake transfer.

16:13 Larry Sanders gets his second block igniting a break the other way. Rozzell hits a huge three in front of the Wilmington bench. UNCW head coach Benny Moss has to take a timeout to quiet the crowd and slow the Ram momentum. VCU 10 - UNCW 0.

15:55 UNCW gets on the board with a inside layup. 10-2 VCU.

14:41 VCU continue to pound it inside. Jamie Skeen gets laid out under the basket to earn another trip to the line. He hits the first. The second shot rims out. Skeen now has 6 of the rams first 12 points. VCU 12 - UNCW 2.

13:01 Ed Nixon nails a three in front of the UNCW bench. Santil steals the inbounds pass and get a layup and a foul. VCU 17 - UNCW 2.

Timeout UNCW!

12:53 Santil is unable to convert on the free throw. UNCW's only playmaker Chad Tomko sets up the Seahawk's offense. Nothing doing UNCW hoists another air ball. Nothing is going UNCW's way.

11:43 VCU gets back to back layups from Fields and Terrance Santil. VCU 21 - UNCW 2.

11:01 UNCW continue to be bothered by VCU's pressing defense. Johnny Wolf just sailed a pass into the 4th row.

10:37 Joey Rodriguez nails a 3 from the top of the key to make it a 24-2 VCU advantage. UNCW is finally able to get a layup inside to end their drought.

9:55 Bradford Burgess answers with yet another inside bucket for the Rams. 26-2 VCU.

8:22 Another steal for VCU. I am starting to feel bad for UNCW... not really.

7:58 Another drive to the lane by Junior Joey Rodriguez is rewarded with another trip to the line for the Rams. He hits 1 of 2.

A quick note on UNCW's poor shooting. They are now 2-21 from the field. That is an incredible 9.5% in the first 13 minutes. The Rams on the other hand are shooting at a 43.5% clip.

6:30 Larry Sanders ignites the Siegel Center crowd with an oop to put the Rams up 29-4. Benny Moss is in disbelief.

5:45 It continues to get worse for Wilmington. TJ Gwynn bricks a three but is fouled on the way down. He hits all three. VCU 32 - UNCW 6.

4:27 Ed Nixon taps in a Gavin miss. VCU 36 - UNC 6.

4:01 UNCW's most expereinced and only weapon Chad Tomko has been on the bench now for 7 mins with ZERO points.

3:23 UNCW gets a bucket and a round of applause from the Siegel Center faithful. VCU 38 - UNCW 8.

2:45 The Kremlin enter the game for the first time to a thunderous ovation. He get the ball inside and earns a trip to the line for his efforts. He hits both shots VCU 40 UNCW 11.

1:53 Two more free throws for Kirill extends the Rams lead to 31.

1:03 Tomko gets to the line for the Seahawks. He hits both free throws. Those are his first points of the game.

Halftime! VCU 43 - UNCW 17.

Every available Ram played in the first half and the scoring was balanced. Larry Sanders leads the way with seven points and four blocked shots. Chad Tomko leads the way for UNCW with 7 points.

Any ideas on what Benny Moss said to his team at half? I am thinking he has all five starters in a Texas Tech equipment shed guarded by a couple of grad students. Me and my buddy Marc are debating on wether or not our YMCA rec. team could get 17 in a half against the Rams. We did have more depth then this Seahawks team.

20:00 UNCW will open the half with the ball. The continue to try and go inside without much coming from it except 808's and heartbreaks.

19:11 VCU scores first with a nice reverse layup from JRod followed by a steal by Burgess and layup from TJ Gwynn. VCU 47 - UNCW 17.

18:00 continue pressing and causing all kinds of problems for UNCW. Even when the Seahawks were able to get a 2 on 1 break Larry Sanders managed to get a steal igniting a break that saw a behind the back pass from TJ Gwynn and a dunk from Bradford Burgess. VCU 51 - UNCW 17.

17:16 UNCW is settling for three pointers now. Coach Benny Moss has removed all of his starting 5 with the exception of Tomko.

16:24 UNCW gets their first bucket of the half, a layup by Keith Rendleman.

15:46 Three point bucket from Larry Sanders is good followed by yet another steal and dunk by Bradford Burgess. VCU 62 - UNCW 23.

14:28 VCU has opened the half shooting 90%, 9-10 while Wilmington conitinues it poor shooting at 27%.

13:45 A three pointer goes for Jay Gavin to extend the VCU lead to 39. Looks like the refs are trying to help out UNCW on the offensive end. They have been bailed out on two balls that should have been turnovers.

12:01 We are almost three quarters of the way through this one and the Rams have held UNCW's scoring duo of Fields and Tomko to just 11 points. Combined they are averaging nearly 30 points a game. VCU 70 - UNCW 27.

11:20 Larry Sanders hits two more free throws amidst chants of "We want Tomko" from the VCU student section. Tomko is sulking at the end of the UNCW bench.

11:05 David Hinton enters the game for Larry Sanders. Standing ovation continues.

11:00 Johnny Wolf heads to the line for UNCW. The entire stadium is howling. VCU 74 - uncw 31.

10:35 VCU head coach Shaka Smart continues to empty is bench. Freshman Issaih Grayson is back in the game. I wonder what the Rams biggest margin of victory is? I will have to ask the internets.

9:41 Troy Daniels enters the games for the Rams and quickly drains a three. VCU continues to roll 77-31.

8:37 Chad Tomko gets a deep three to fall for the Seahawks. Does it matter at this point?

6:38 Darius Theus hits 1 of 2 from the line. I think everyone in a VCU lineup except Rodney has now scored.

5:54 The howling continues as Johnny Wolf drives to the net and bricks off the rim. Shouts of Lone Wolf and Teen Wolf can be heard. VCU 83 - UNCW 47.

4:29 Issiah Grayson earns a trip to the line. He hits both free throws. Its official the entire men's basketball team has scored in this game!

4:01 Wait! Just kidding! David Hinton has yet to score. He gets two chances from the line and cant convert. VCU is up by 38. VCU 87 - UNCW 49.

3:35 David Hinton hits a sinks a jumper and everyone has scored for VCU! Those were also Hinton first points in a VCU uniform. Rams 89 - Seahawks 50.

1:48 Trevor Deloach hits a three for UNCW. He has the only points of anyone on the court for the Seahawks.

FINAL! VCU 91 - UNCW 57.

Who's Got Next: UNCW

The Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University look to continue their winning ways Saturday when they face the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington.

The Seahawks are 4-7 overall and have dropped three of their last four contests, including a 66-64 heartbreaker on Monday at the University of Richmond.

The Seahawks have six players averaging six points or better, led by junior Chad Tomko (15.5 ppg) and junior John Fields (13.6 ppg).

Head coach Benny Moss has fashioned a 34-60 (.362) overall record and a 20-38 (.344) ledger in the CAA in three seasons with the Seahawks.

Two of the CAA’s top shot blockers and two of the nation’s best inside defenders will be featured on Saturday. UNCW’s John Fields has 32 blocks in 10 games for 3.2 per game. VCU’s Larry Sanders has 28 blocks in 10 games for 2.8 per game.

Sanders has moved up to sixth on the CAA’s career blocked shots list with 215 after swatting four shots in the Rams’ victory over East Carolina on Tuesday. He needs just five more rejections to pass ODU’s Cal Bowdler for fifth. Sanders ranks third in the CAA with 28 blocks this season.

Saturday marks the 37^th meeting between the Seahawks and Rams. VCU leads the series, 19-17, and has won seven of the last 10 matchups.

UNCW is 2-8 at the Siegel Center all time and has not won in the arena since Feb. 23, 2006.

VCU is riding a three-game winning streak after posting close victories over Richmond, Tulane and East Carolina. The Rams have not lost since a 75-74 decision at CAA upstart William & Mary back on Dec 5.

Junior Larry Sanders leads the team with 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, followed by sophomore Bradford Burgess at 10.2 points and 4.7 boards.

Tip-off at the Siegel Center is set for 2 p.m.

Maynor Named to CollegeInsider’s Mid-Major All-Decade Team

Former VCU point guard Eric Maynor has been named to CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major All-Decade Team.

VCU's all-time leader in points (1,953), assists (674), games played (130) and free throws made (503). Two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year.

Maynor, was selected 20th overall by the Jazz in last June’s NBA Draft, before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is averaging 5.1 points, 3.1 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.

Maynor was one of five Colonial Athletic Association players on the 26-man list. He was joined by Jose Juan Barea (Northeastern), George Evans (George Mason), Alex Loughton (Old Dominion), Brett Blizzard (UNCW).

See the full list here.