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PHILADELPHIA – It took ten minutes of extra time before a winner was decided on Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena. Ultimately, La Salle men's basketball fell just short of the mark, losing to VCU in double-overtime 97-89.
 
"That's about as tough a loss as you can have in this game," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "Both teams played with tremendous effort and passion and VCU just did everything right down the stretch."
 
A 10-0 run by VCU (16-4; 4-1 A-10) in the second overtime session sealed the game. With the score knotted at 82-82, senior guard Rob Brandenberg splashed two consecutive three-pointers, both with just seconds remaining on the shot clock. The two big shots were daggers the Explorers could not recover from in the eight-point defeat.
 
"It was a great college basketball game and La Salle really battled," VCU head coach Shaka Smart remarked postgame.
 
Senior Tyrone Garland paced four Explorers double-figure scorers with a career high 30 points (8-of-22 FG; 1-of-5 3-PT; 13-of-14 FT), while also collecting four rebounds and dishing three assists.
 
Tyreek Duren added 15 points (6-of-10 FG; 1-of-1 3-PT; 2-of-3 FT) and four assists.
 
The pace was frenetic throughout the contest, as the teams combined for eleven ties and seven scoring changes in the competitive tilt.
 
As has been the case so often this season, the Explorers (11-8; 3-2 A-10) looked to push the ball down low to junior forward Jerrell Wright early and often. He scored six of the Explorers first nine points, as both teams battled to a 9-9 stalemate at the first media timeout.
 
The Blue and Gold hit a wall coming out of the timeout, as the vaunted VCU defense put the clamps on the Explorer offense. La Salle went without a field goal for 8:34 in the middle portion of the opening half. The Rams parlayed the Explorers struggled on the offensive end into a 11-1 run, snatching a ten-point lead at the under eight-minute media timeout.
 
With their offensive leaders in complete lockdown, the Explorers looked to their unsung heroes to break the prolonged dry spell. Redshirt sophomore forward Rohan Brown knocked down three consecutive buckets, with Khalid Lewis adding a pair of free-throws. However, even though the Explorer offense broke out of its doldrums the sizeable Rams 11-point lead still remained at the final media timeout of the half.
 
The pendulum swung to the Explorers side in the final minutes of the first half, as the Explorers offensive leaders began to get untracked. La Salle closed the half on an 11-4 run, aided by five points from Tyrone Garland, his first of the half.

"I just took my time and started being aggressive on the press," Garland said postgame. "Tyreek told me to stop waiting for them to set up their defense and attack the press once we got over the half court line."
 
Steve Zack closed the opening session with a layup as time expired, cutting the deficit to a slim four heading into the break. He would finish with his eleventh double-double of the season, netting 11 points and collecting 11 rebounds, while also adding four blocked shots.
 
The Explorers picked up where they left off in the second half, with Jerrell Wright netting the first two baskets to tie the game at 33-all. Soon after, Wright would pick up his third foul. He was limited to ten points and three boards in just 13-minutes of action.
 
VCU took advantage of Wright's absence by pushing the ball to Juvonte Reddic in the low block. He netted four-points of a 7-0 Ram run to reestablish the seven-point advantage. Reddic would finish with a monster game, marking a double-double with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
 
The Explorers flipped the script on VCU, turning to the stifling defense of Khalid Lewis. Back-to-back layups off steals from Duren and then Lewis gave the Explorers the lead with just under twelve to play. It was their first lead since being up 4-3 at the 18:48 mark of the first half.
 
Garland would put the team on his back down the stretch. He scored nine points in four consecutive possessions for the Explorers. Rohan Brown then flushed a layup and suddenly the game looked in hand with the Explorers up ten at 69-59 with five minutes to play.
 
Turnabout would prove to be fair play in this one, however. While the Explorers dominated the final five minutes in the first half, VCU took control down the stretch in the second on the back of their leading offensive player Treveon Graham. He would score ten of the Rams final 14 points, capping his spurt with a layup to tie the score with 9.2 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Graham would finish with a game-high 34 points, while adding 12 rebounds.
 
"He is so versatile," Duren said postgame. "He has size, good hands, he can shoot. We knew he was going to be a tough matchup."
 
Both teams would struggle to score in the first extra session with each netting seven points through the first five-minute session. Duren nailed two clutch free-throws to give the Explorers a one-point lead with 22.7 seconds remaining. However, Graham would hit 1-of-2 free-throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to re-tie the game. A last second half court shot by D.J. Peterson fell just short.
 
The Rams would take control in the second overtime session, outscoring the Explorers 17-9. Briante Weber knocked down 5-of-6 free-throws to preserve the VCU victory.
 
The Explorers (11-8, 3-2 A-10) return to action next Wednesday for a 7:00pm matchup at George Washington. The game will air live on SNY, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and campusinsiders.com and tape delay at 9 PM on The Comcast Network.