NEW YORK — After barely hanging on to stay close in the first half, the game got away from UMass in the second.
VCU’s defense, which the Minutemen handled so well a month ago in Amherst, was too much for them in the rematch as UMass fell, 85-70, Thursday in the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Barclays Center.
The Minutemen completed their season at 14-18. VCU will face St. Bonaventure or Davidson in the semifinals, Saturday at 4 p.m.
VCU coach Will Wade said his team was ready for the Minutemen.
“UMass is a good team. They’re playing really well here at the end of the year. (Jabarie) Hinds is playing well. They clubbed us up there pretty good,” Wade said. “We kind of expected UMass to win (Thursday’s) game. I spent most of the week preparing for UMass. … You know, we were prepared for both, but we definitely put a little bit more time into UMass.”
The Minutemen had less than 24 hours to prepare for the Rams and the preparation gap showed. While VCU has built a brand on its perimeter play, its inside dominance dictated the game.
The Rams outrebounded UMass 49-31 and turned 20 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points. The Minutemen actually shot better from the field, but the rebound discrepancy helped VCU get 15 more shots (72-57).
“VCU played a great game today. They obviously won the game on the backboards with 20 offensive rebounds that turned into many points. I thought that was the difference in the game,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “I thought our guys competed, fought, battled. We just didn’t do a good enough job of keeping them off the glass. They were the better team today.”
The Rams blocked seven shots, including four from Mo Alie-Cox. The early rejections seemed to create a threat, which caused the Minutemen to at times either be hesitant or alter the trajectory of their shots. Several blocks started fast breaks.
“We didn’t convert (those shots) into points, and they ended up converting it into points for them,” UMass senior guard Trey Davis said. “Our points turned into their points, so that kind of slowed us down.”
Leading 39-30 at halftime, VCU scored the first four points out of intermission, causing Kellogg to call a timeout.
It didn’t stop the train.
Led by Melvin Johnson (19 points), VCU opened the half on a 19-4 run that was a knockout blow and UMass couldn’t recover.
A bright spot for the Minutemen continued to be freshman big man Rashaan Holloway. In a career-high 29 minutes, he had 16 points and a career-high eight rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists.
“The last couple weeks, my mindset was just to be dominant when I’m in the game,” Holloway said. “Just as simple as that. I’ve just got to be dominant and be a low-post presence.”
Alie-Cox tipped his hat.
“It reminded me of like freshman year when I was guarding Josh Smith from Georgetown,” Cox said shaking his head. “I couldn’t see around him. It took all my energy just trying to get in front of him, but once I got in front, they would hold the ball so long, he would like fight back and get position, so I just tried to do my best to hold him off.”
Kellogg hoped Holloway’s effort was a sign of things to come.
“Rashaan showed what he’s capable of doing in short bursts,” Kellogg said. “As he continues to get in great shape. I think he has a chance to be a dominant big man in our league.”
The game was the final collegiate contest for seniors Antwan Space, Tyler Bergantino, Davis and Hinds.
Davis finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Like he did Thursday, Hinds led UMass with 10 first-half points and finished with 16. But the Rams contained him and pretty much everyone else other than Holloway in the second half until the game was well-in-hand.
Davis was emotional in the postgame press conference.
“I love this group of guys, man. Through the ups and downs, I love them,” he said. “Even though the season is over, I’m going to love these guys to death and I’m going to always be there for them, and it don’t stop here. It’s more than basketball. These are my brothers for life.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage