Hyland makes his Bones with 30 and 10 as VCU advances

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

VCU started fast, built a big lead, then hung on to defeat Dayton, 73-68, in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinals at the Siegel Center. VCU is now 18-6, while Dayton fell to 14-9. The Rams will be in the A-10 semis for the sixth time in nine years, sporting a 5-0 record in their previous appearances. 

Bones Hyland made a significant return from injury, recording a double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds. 

“After two weeks, it felt good being out there,” Hyland said. “I wanted to uplift the spirits of my teammates and do the best I can.” 

The VCU sophomore guard scored 22 points in the first half. 

“My first two shots went in,” Hyland explained.”After that, it felt like the net just got wider for me.”

“Bones got us going,” head coach Mike Rhoades observed. “It’s important to have your best player in the game.”

Hyland hit a last-second, off-balance shot to give VCU a 37-26 halftime lead. 

“I had a coach in my playing days who said the best way to establish second half momentum is to end the first half with momentum,” Rhoades reflected. “That shot did it for us.”

The Rams had to weather a late Dayton run that got the contest to a two-possession game. 

“Teams make runs,” Rhoades said. “I knew Dayton would make a run. They are too good a team, and with (Ibi) Watson and (Jalen) Crutcher, you knew they would not go away.” 

The key for VCU was maintaining composure.

“During our timeouts, the huddle was positive,” Rhoades recounted. “I just kept telling the team, just take it one possession at a time.”

“I had to fight through ball screens,” Ace Baldwin said of defending Crutcher, who finished with 21 points in the loss. “I was just trying to keep him from getting a hot hand.”

Everyone talks about VCU’s rebounding and ability to force turnovers. In Crutcher’s estimation, their biggest asset involves making plays. 

“They force you to make plays you don’t want to make,” the Dayton senior said. “You may want to run something from your game plan, but they’ll stop it and force you to react and make a play you might not want to make.”

Dayton coach Anthony Grant was generally pleased his team fought throughout and did not pack it in despite trailing by double digits a good portion of the game. The Flyers trailed by 19 with just under 10 minutes to play. Still, they made a strong run that caused some anxious moments for the host Rams.

“We didn’t play well,” Grant said. “VCU had a lot to do with that. Our guys tried to make it difficult for Hyland, but he’s got some great teammates. The coaches do a great job putting everybody in their best position possible.”

Rhoades was asked about a possible semifinal opponent. He pointed out that both Davidson and George Mason, facing each other in the other quarterfinal, “both beat us last time out.”

Davidson, a 99-67 victor over George Mason, will face the Rams. Kellan Grady led the Wildcats with 32 points. VCU dropped a 65-57 decision to the Wildcats a week ago at Davidson. Hyland was not in the lineup. 

Naturally, Rhoades is thrilled to have Hyland back on board. He’ll need him facing a Davidson team, judging by the George Mason game, that is running on all cylinders.