Field Level Media
Dec 5, 2018
Matt Coleman missed a 3-point attempt with two seconds left and visiting Virginia Commonwealth held on to defeat Texas 54-53 on Wednesday night.
Texas inbounded with 6.6 seconds left and Kerwin Roach drove into the lane, stopped and passed back to Coleman, whose shot went in and out before being rebounded by Virginia Commonwealth as the buzzer sounded.
Marcus Evans scored 16 points and De'Riante Jenkins added 12 for the Rams (7-2), who won despite shooting 28.1 percent (16-for-57) from the field. They converted 16 of 21 free throws.
The teams combined for 33 turnovers and there were 15 lead changes. The largest lead by either team was five points.
Roach, the Longhorns' leading scorer (16.7 points per game), was held to four points, his second straight game in single digits.
Jericho Sims (14 points) was the only player in double figures for Texas, which lost its third straight game and was coming off a home loss against the Radford Highlanders.
Texas (5-3) shot 41.5 percent (22-for-53) from the field and made 5-of-8 free throws.
The Rams came in allowing 62.4 points per game, which ranked 34th in the nation.
VCU was the team that head Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart coached from 2009-2014.
The teams were within three points of each other for the entire second half until Dylan Osetkowski's dunk gave Texas a 49-45 lead with 7:44 left.
VCU ran off seven straight points, taking a 52-49 lead on Sean Mobley's 3-pointer at the 4:38 mark.
After an interval featuring mainly turnovers and missed shots, Roach's driving layup pulled Texas within 54-53 with 1:29 left.
After Courtney Ramey of Texas missed a 3-point try for Texas with 40 seconds to play, VCU's Jenkins missed a jumper with 10 seconds left, giving the Longhorns one more chance.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half as the lead changed hands seven times.
--Field Level Media