Rams' season ends with frustrating loss to Butler

HOUSTON There were plenty of long faces in Virginia Commonwealth’s locker room. Some smiles, too.

There was pride at what they had accomplished, and longing to get back some shots that didn’t fall and that they had one more game to play.

VCU’s storybook ride through the NCAA tournament did not have a fairytale ending Saturday. The Rams fell 70-62 to Butler in the national semifinals at Reliant Stadium, victims of crucial shots that dipped in and out of the basket, 3-point daggers from the Bulldogs’ Shelvin Mack and opportunistic rebounding by Matt Howard, and a seasoned team that got some separation late in the game and kept it.

Butler (28-9) moved into the national championship game for the second consecutive year. VCU (28-11) went home knowing it had a chance to be there.

“It was a great experience being here, but we thought we could do more,” point guard Joey Rodriguez said.

When the Rams look back on this one, they will think about the shots they missed. And about Mack (24 points) knocking down some big 3-pointers. And about fouls (24) and giving up too many second-chance points (19).

VCU surrendered 16 offensive rebounds and was beaten 48-32 on the boards.

“I felt like we left one out there,” guard Ed Nixon said. “I felt like we could have won this game.”

The Rams had waltzed through the Southwest Regional, whipping big-name teams such as Georgetown and Purdue and Kansas by playing a free-wheeling game and knocking down 3-pointer after 3-pointer.

Those same shots did not fall against Butler. The Rams had treys rim out and missed some easy layups. They were 8 of 22 from behind the arc and shot 39.7 percent overall.

“We had at least a dozen shots go all the way in the rim, do a little dance a pop back out,” Nixon said.

After an early flurry of 3-pointers from Skeen and Bradford Burgess (15 points, nine rebounds) – who combined for the Rams’ first 17 points – VCU went almost 18 minutes without another 3-pointer.

“I thought particularly in the first half, we really let off the gas for some reason, which I can’t give you an explanation for right now,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said. “I’ve got to watch the tape. But what’s brought us success thus far in the NCAA tournament has been, you know, really being aggressive and pushing the pedal to the metal even when we get leads. But midway through the first half, we did not do that.”

The Rams trailed by six at halftime but scored seven unanswered points. They were in a two-point game until Mack pushed Butler ahead with a decisive sequence.

After Rob Brandenberg missed a layup, Mack nailed a 3-pointer. Skeen made two free throws, but Mack canned another 3-pointer. After VCU turned the ball over, Mack made a layup that gave Butler a 52-45 cushion with 9:39 left.

The Rams got within four on Rodriguez’s only basket – a long 3-pointer – and trailed 56-52 with six minutes remaining. But more shots rattled in and out, and VCU couldn’t close the gap.

Howard applied the backbreaker – an easy lay-in on an offensive rebound – with 59 seconds left that made it 63-57. Butler put the game away at the free-throw line, ending the almost unfathomable run of a team that had become the darling of the tournament after being heavily criticized as an unworthy at-large pick.

“VCU has a lot to be proud of,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “They inspired a lot of people, including us. They played terrific all the way through. We were fortunate to pull that one out. We had guys made individual plays time and again that were crucial.”

Rodriguez was 1 of 8 from the floor. Rozzell and Nixon, suffering from cramps, each were 1 of 5.

Referring to the missed shots, Rodriguez said “it almost felt like it wasn’t supposed to happen,” but he could have been talking about the bigger picture.

Rodriguez, Rozzell and Nixon closed their careers with 103 wins, tied for the most in program history. Rozzell said as he walked off the elevated floor, there was an “emotional, wish-you-could-have-done-better” feeling.

And the realization that they’d played their last game together.

“I think that’s what hurt the most,” Rodriguez said. “But to have the fans over there cheering, with a standing ovation, was great.

“There’s a lot of pride. It’s something no one has ever done at our school. We’ll see that Final Four banner go up next year and realize what we did.”

tpearrell@timesdispatch.com

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