VCU held Loyola Chicago without a field goal for the final 5:10 and closed things out with a 12-4 run to advance to the A-10 Tournament final with a 62-55 win on Saturday.
The top-seeded Rams (27-6) will face #2 seed George Mason (26-7), a 74-64 winner over Saint Joseph’s in the second semifinal game.
VCU won the teams’ lone regular-season matchup, 70-54, on Feb. 22 at the Siegel Center.
VCU probably had the tougher road to the championship game in the semifinals on Saturday. Loyola Chicago (22-11) rallied from 10 down early in the second half to take a 51-50 lead with 5:10 to go on a layup from Kymany Houinsou.
A 9-0 Rams run over the next 4:24 put them up nine, at 59-51, on a Jack Clark free throw.
Sheldon Edwards was fouled attempting a three with 38 seconds left, and made all three free throws, and a steal on the inbounds led to a free-throw opportunity for Jayden Daniels, who made 1-of-2 to get the score to 59-55 with 27 ticks on the clock.
VCU was able to close it out going 3-of-4 at the line the rest of the way.
Max Shulga had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Rams.
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In the nightcap, Mason led by nine at the break, but an early 10-2 Saint Joe’s run whittled the margin to two ahead of the first media timeout.
A 12-2 Mason run over a nearly four-minute stretch pushed a four-point lead to 14, and the Patriots were able to hold off a late charge by hitting 5-of-6 at the line in the final 38 seconds.
Jalen Haynes had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead George Mason.
The VCU-Mason game for the A-10 title and the league’s automatic bid for the 2025 NCAA Tournament is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
The game will be broadcast on CBS.
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Chris Graham
