No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth 71, Massachusetts 62: Juvonte Reddic collected 18 points and 12 rebounds and Troy Daniels added 20 points off the bench as the second-seeded Rams advanced to a showdown with top-seeded Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 title game Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Briante Weber chipped in 11 points and Darius Theus added 10 for Virginia Commonwealth (26-7), which has won five of its last six and has survived two close games in the conference tournament. The Rams held off Saint Joseph's 82-79 in Friday's quarterfinals.
Chaz Williams scored 18 points and Cady Lalanne contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds for sixth-seeded Massachusetts (21-11), which lost for only the second time in seven games and is likely on the bubble for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Minutemen raced to a 20-11 lead, but couldn't sustain the pace. Daniels hit three straight 3-pointers to key an 11-0 run as VCU moved in front and went into halftime clinging to a 35-34 lead.
Williams' jumper in the first minute of the second half gave Massachusetts a 36-35 lead, but the Rams regained the lead on Daniels' 3-pointer eight seconds later, and the Minutemen never led again.
GAME NOTEBOOK: VCU will play in its conference tournament final for the third consecutive year. The Rams are playing in the Atlantic 10 final for the first time after advancing to the Colonial Athletic Association title game the past two years. … It's the first time the top two seeds have advanced to the Atlantic 10 title game since 2005. … Daniels was 6-for-9 from 3-point range, while Massachusetts was 3-for-11 as a team.
Massachusetts | VCU | |
Chaz Williams 18 | Scoring | Troy Daniels 20 |
Chaz Williams 4 | Assists | Darius Theus 6 |
Sampson Carter 12 | Rebounds | Juvonte Reddic 12 |
Sampson Carter 6 | Free Throws Made | Juvonte Reddic 8 |
Maxie Esho 2 | Steals | Rob Brandenberg 2 |
Maxie Esho 4 | Blocks | Troy Daniels 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Massachusetts | 62 | 37.7 | 3-11 | 19-26 | 6 | 46 | 9 | 7 | 24 |
VCU | 71 | 35.7 | 8-21 | 13-19 | 13 | 33 | 2 | 12 | 8 |