National Basketball Association
VCU 93, Northern Iowa 87
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 13, 2014
Where: Stuart Siegel Center, Richmond, Virginia
Officials:
# Mike Eades, # William Humes, # Tim Nestor
Attendance:
7637
By SportsDirect Inc.
VCU 93, No. 24 Northern Iowa 87 (2OT): Treveon Graham collected 21 points and 11 rebounds as the host Rams handed the Panthers their first loss in a thrilling mid-major matchup.
Briante Weber, the nation's leader in steals, collected six more to go with 14 points while Melvin Johnson had 12 points for VCU (6-3), which knocked down 11 3-pointers - the same number as Northern Iowa. The Rams squandered an 11-point lead late in regulation but recovered to avoid their fourth loss in six games.
Wes Washpun led the Panthers (9-1) with a career-high 27 points before fouling out late in the second overtime, when he was called for a charge against Weber. Matt Bohannon scored 18 points and was 5-of-9 from 3-point range, including a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation and the tying triple with 33 seconds to go in the first overtime.
VCU's Doug Brooks hit a 3-pointer to kick off the second-overtime action and Graham nailed a contested triple with the shot clock winding down with 2:14 left. Weber knocked down two foul shots with 39 seconds to go and Graham's 2-of-2 effort from the line sealed the win with nine seconds remaining.
Graham had seven points and six rebounds in the first half as VCU led 37-35 at intermission. The Rams' lead was 65-54 with 6:16 left in the second half before Washpun scored eight points during a 19-6 run that gave the Panthers a two-point lead before Graham's driving layup tied it with 36 seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Despite playing 43 minutes Saturday, Graham did not commit a turnover for the third straight game. ... The Rams did not lead until Weber's 3-pointer with about eight minutes left in the first half, although they held the Panthers to one field goal over the final 5:58 of the session. Northern Iowa, which shot 15-of-17 in the first half of Wednesday's win against Denver, was at 50 percent through 20 minutes on Saturday. ... VCU played the game's final eight minutes without F Mo Alie-Cox (cramps) while Panthers leading scorer Seth Tuttle did not return after the 7:48 mark of the second half for unspecified reasons.
Top Game Performances
| Northern Iowa |
|
VCU |
|
Wes Washpun 27 |
Scoring |
Treveon Graham 21 |
|
Deon Mitchell 4 |
Assists |
JeQuan Lewis 6 |
|
Nate Buss 6 |
Rebounds |
Treveon Graham 11 |
|
Wes Washpun 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Treveon Graham 6 |
|
Wes Washpun 4 |
Steals |
Briante Weber 6 |
|
Deon Mitchell 1 |
Blocks |
Jordan Burgess 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Northern Iowa
|
87 |
49.2 |
11-24 |
14-23 |
13 |
37 |
1 |
7 |
16 |
| VCU
|
93 |
47.1 |
11-28 |
16-22 |
20 |
35 |
5 |
11 |
11 |
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