Rams hang on to topple UNCW

WILMINGTON, N.C. The rockets, as Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart calls them, were back on Rob Brandenberg’s feet.

That was a timely development, because the Rams needed someone to keep their season in orbit Wednesday.

With VCU flat, shooting poorly and struggling to shake UNCW, Brandenberg arrived with the rescue ship in a 63-59 win at Trask Coliseum.

The sophomore guard produced 21 points and a key seven-point stretch in the second half, then made two free throws with 5.3 seconds left after the Rams, leading by two, got a critical steal when Darius Theus tipped away the Seahawks’ inbounds pass.

VCU (24-6, 14-3) nearly blew an eight-point lead in the final two minutes, and a loss to UNCW (9-19, 5-12) would have done a re-entry burn on its at-large hopes to the NCAA tournament.

Instead, the Rams moved into a tie for second with George Mason in the Colonial Athletic Association. Mason, which lost in overtime to Northeastern, plays VCU Saturday at the Siegel Center in the regular-season finale to determine the second and third seeds in the conference tournament. Drexel has locked up the top seed.

Theus said the Rams weren’t looking ahead to a rematch with Mason, which beat VCU with a last-second 3-pointer last week. Still, he said they were “half-stepping it,” which combined with misfires at a rapid and sometimes impatient clip, was almost disastrous.

VCU was nursing a 46-43 lead with 8 ½ minutes left when Brandenberg reeled off seven consecutive points to give the Rams a seven-point pad. He finished 6 of 12.

Forward Juvonte Reddic was 7 of 14 and scored 14 points. The rest of the Rams were 10 for 36. Bradford Burgess was 1 of 12. VCU was just 5 of 23 from behind the 3-point line.

Brandenberg went through a horrendous eight-game stretch where he made only 8 of 45 shots. Extra shooting with assistant coach Jamion Christian has helped him regain his form (9 of 14 in his previous two games).

“I had a good feeling,” Brandenberg said. “The basket looked really nice tonight. I just took advantage of that.”

VCU seemed on the verge of pulling away after Brandenberg’s spree. The Rams had a 60-52 lead with 2:02 left. But Keith Rendleman (24 points, 10 rebounds) got a dunk, then a steal and a layup, and then a three-point play to make it 60-59 with 1:00 remaining.

Theus was fouled and made the first of two free throws at :50. He missed the second foul shot but tipped out the rebound to Brandenberg. VCU milked the clock before Burgess missed a runner with 16 seconds remaining.

UNCW took the ball down court and called timeout in front of its bench with 8 seconds left. The Rams had a hard time handling the 6-foot-8 Rendleman all game, and the Seahawks tried to use a play that worked earlier: a screen by Freddie Jackson on the side to free Rendleman down low.

Reddic, though, had Rendleman covered. So Tanner Milson tried to throw a bounce pass to Jackson. Theus tipped it up the court.

“I saw him make a bounce pass, and I noticed the ball bounced twice,” Theus said. “I thought I could get it, so I just tipped it to Rob. He just happened to grab it.”

Milson said he “made an absolutely terrible pass.”

“Fundamentals,” UNCW coach Buzz Peterson said. “Don’t throw a bounce pass on the perimeter.”

Brandenberg, facing a one-and-one, made both free throws to put the game away.

“He’s a great kid,” Smart said. “Part of the slump he went through is because he’s so hard on himself. We kept trying to tell him, ‘It’s OK, Rob. You’re not going to be perfect. You’re going to make mistakes. Just bounce back.’

“I thought he played with that bounce tonight. He played with the rockets that he typically has when he’s at his best.”

NOTE: The win was the 103rd in Burgess’ career, which moved him into a tie for the most at the school. Joey Rodriguez, Brandon Rozzell, Ed Nixon and T.J. Gwynn each finished with 103.