WILMINGTON, N.C. - Junior guard Ed Nixon came off the bench to pour in 14 of his game-high 19 points in the second half as defending Colonial Athletic Association champion VCU pulled away from UNC Wilmington, 73-60, in men's basketball action Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum.
The Rams won their third straight and seventh in eight games to improve to 16-5 overall and 8-4 in the circuit. The Seahawks suffered their third consecutive loss and dipped to 7-16 and 3-9.
The active Nixon scored just five points in the first half, but went 6-for-8 from the floor in the second half to help the Rams overcome a sub-par game from leading scorer and pro prospect Larry Sanders. Junior guard Joey Rodriquez added 18 points and five rebounds.
Sanders, meanwhile, was in deep foul trouble most of the night and did not score, disappointing a Trask Coliseum-record nine NBA scouts in attendance. The lanky 6-11 shot blocker did not score, playing just 19 minutes and going 0-3 from the field with 10 rebounds and a game-high five assists. It was the fewest points by Sanders since the Fort Pierce, Fla., big man had seven points in a loss to Western Michigan on Nov. 18. It was also the first time he'd been held scoreless since Nov. 16, 2008, against The Citadel.
Junior guard Chad Tomko paced the Seahawks with 11 points. No other Seahawks reached double figures in scoring. Junior John Fields added nine points and 11 rebounds while freshman Keith Rendleman chipped in six points and nine rebounds.
After building a 40-31 advantage at halftime, the Rams made it 42-31 on a layup by Bradford Burgess in the opening seconds of the second half before the Seahawks scored seven straight points to close within, 42-38, on a leaner by Tomko at 17:35.
But VCU scored 11 of the next 13 points to get the margin back to 53-40 when Burgess drained a trey from the left wing to cap a 7-0 spurt with 13:28 showing. Nixon connected on a reverse layup and went coast-to-coast for a slam dunk in the streak.
The Rams, who thumped the Seahawks, 91-57, on Jan. 2 in Richmond, pushed their lead to as many as 22 points with 4:55 remaining before completing a sweep of the regular season series against the Seahawks.
UNCW took advantage of VCU's cold shooting early to stay close to the Rams, taking a 9-7 lead on Rendleman's layup with 16:34 left in the first half.
VCU reeled off seven unanswered points to build a 14-9 lead on a triple by Troy Daniels from the left wing at 10:20 before the Seahawks tied the game at 22-all on a dunk by Fields with 7:30 left in the first period.
The Rams were still clinging to a two-point lead with just over four minutes on the clock in the first half when Shaka Smart's club used an 11-0 run to pull out to a 40-27 cushion. Rodriquez got things started with a floater in the paint and closed out the spurt with the first of two free throws at 1:35.
But UNCW scored the final four points of the half, including a bucket in the paint by Rendleman to slice VCU's lead to 40-31 at intermission.
The Rams return home to entertain Old Dominion on Saturday in a 4 p.m. tip-off at the Siegel Center. The Seahawks head up to Newark, Dela., to battle Delaware on Saturday in a Noon contest.
GAME NOTES: VCU increased its lead in the series to 21-17 ... The Rams are now 4-11 at Trask Coliseum ... UNCW went 0-for-8 behind the arc in the first half ... Sophomore guard Trevor Deloach scored a season-high six points and added two assists in 16 minutes off the bench for the Seahawks ... VCU dominated the paint despite Sanders' struggles, owning a 42-28 advantage.
