Latest news with #Shulga
Washington Post
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
BYU cuts VCU's stay at the dance short in Denver
DENVER — A half hour after Virginia Commonwealth lost, 80-71, to BYU in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday, Rams players returned to a silent locker room and remained in their uniforms as long as they could. In the middle sat senior Max Shulga, the Atlantic 10′s player of the year from Kyiv, who had personified the resolve of a program determined to win a tournament game for the first time since 2016. But before Shulga cut the tape off his ankles for a final time, he shouldered the blame for a string of plays that proved costly for the Rams, including late in the first half, when he failed to rotate properly on defense on multiple possessions and watched BYU take an 11-point lead at halftime. 'I had a lot of breakdowns that caused that run,' Shulga said. 'I take the full blame on that. Played bad defense. Gave up threes I wasn't supposed to give up. I wasn't ready to play in the first half … that's on me.' It wasn't all on Shulga. VCU (28-7) was outclassed for long stretches by the Cougars, who looked hungry to end a five-game NCAA tournament losing streak. VCU prepared for a three-point barrage from the trigger-happy-Cougars, who hit seven from beyond the arc but did far more damage on the interior, controlling the glass with 12 offensive rebounds and scoring 38 points in the paint. 'They did a really nice job of getting it into the paint,' VCU Coach Ryan Odom said. 'They put us in some tough spots.' Shulga, who finished with 12 points, hit his first three-pointer — VCU made 15-of-38 from deep — but missed his next five shots and committed three turnovers. The Rams' starting guards — Shulga, Joe Bamisile and Phillip Russell — started a combined 2-for-14 from the field, yet VCU trailed by just one point with less than five minutes to play in the first half. But the Rams' offense stalled with three consecutive turnovers. BYU (25-9) went on its run, fueled by buckets from forwards Fousseyni Traore and Keba Keita, who combined for 22 points and 18 rebounds. And Shulga failed to rotate to the corner for a three-pointer made by Trevin Knell as the Cougars went up 39-28 at the break. 'We had four really bad offensive plays. We had three turnovers right in a row. We had a couple of breakdowns on defense. What ended up being a one possession game ended up being 11 points,' said Odom. 'That's what happens in these games. Runs are so important. You have to minimize runs.' Odom made adjustments in the second half — he trapped ball screens and intensified pressure as VCU tried to claw back into the game. Shulga was pulled for a few minutes in the second half after committing a turnover; he returned to the bench as BYU used a 13-3 run to take a 20-point lead. But Shulga returned to the game and hit back-to-back three-pointers, and Zeb Jackson scored 16 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes as the Rams trimmed the lead back to 10. That's as close as they would get until the game's final seconds. 'We tried to get them out of their game, and I think they did a great job of handling it and being themselves,' Jackson said. BYU had presented as difficult of a challenge that VCU had faced in a season that had been mired in ups and downs but had only included one loss since late January. VCU had won 12 of 13 before Thursday and had used its gritty defensive identity to ride three wins to the Atlantic 10 Conference championship last week at Capital One Arena, and it was confident that it could disrupt BYU's run-and-gun style with full-court pressure. But the Cougars, who shot 50 percent from the field, took every punch and countered to win their first NCAA tournament game since 2012. They will face Wisconsin on Saturday. And they had thousands of fans who made the seven-hour drive from Salt Lake City to Denver on Thursday to celebrate with, including one last roar in the final minutes, when Shulga threw an errant pass and was forced to foul on the ensuing fast break. He slapped his hips in frustration and raised his hand to take the blame for the mistake one last time. 'It's hard to lose like that. We expect to win every game,' Shulga said. 'Sometimes it just doesn't go your way.'
Reuters
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Conference finals roundup: VCU, Yale win titles
March 16 - Max Shulga scored 12 of his game-high 18 points after halftime and No. 1 seed VCU never trailed in a narrow 68-63 victory over No. 2 seed George Mason to win the Atlantic-10 championship game on Sunday in Washington, D.C. The Rams (28-6) punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years by outshooting the Patriots 40.4 percent to 33.9 percent from the field, which made up for 16 VCU turnovers. Shulga made a layup to beat the first-half buzzer, and the resulting 36-28 lead was the largest of the game to that point. VCU led by 10 points just once in the second half before George Mason (26-8) closed to within 59-58 on Darius Maddox's 3-pointer. Shulga answered with a 3-pointer on VCU's next possession. Jack Clark and Joe Bamisile each scored 17 points for VCU. Jalen Haynes paced George Mason with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Maddox finished with 12 points and Brayden O'Connor and Zach Anderson scored 10 apiece. Yale 90, Cornell 84 John Poulakidas poured in 25 points with five 3-pointers and the top-seeded Bulldogs held off the second-seeded Big Red to win the Ivy League title in Providence, R.I. Nick Townsend scored 19, Casey Simmons had 13 and Bez Mbeng racked up 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Yale (22-7), which won the Ivy for the second year in a row. The regular-season champs hung on after a 16-point second-half lead was trimmed to two. AK Okereke had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists to guide Cornell (18-11), which outshot Yale 55.8 percent to 50 percent from the field, though Yale hit 13 3-pointers to Cornell's 11. Nazir Williams had 20 points, Guy Ragland Jr. had 16 and Jake Fiegen added 11 for the Big Red.
NBC Sports
16-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Shulga scores 18, VCU holds off George Mason 68-63 to claim Atlantic 10 title and NCAA berth
WASHINGTON — Max Shulga scored 18 points and Joe Bamisile sealed the win with two free throws with a half-second left as Virginia Commonwealth held off George Mason 66-63 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship Sunday. VCU led by eight at the break, 36-28, but George Mason got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jared Billups and Woody Newton to trail by just two, 45-43 with more than 12 minutes to play. Shulga answered with a 3 and hit a pair of free throws before finding Jack Clark for a 3 to push the VCU lead to 53-43. Darius Maddox hit a 3 with 2:27 left to get the Patriots within one at 59-58. Coming out of a timeout, Shulga held the ball at the top of the key, then calmly knocked down a step-back 3 with 1:59 left. Jalen Haynes' layup with 39 seconds left got George Mason within 3 but Zach Anderson missed a 3-pointer with :04 left and Newton was forced to foul Bamisile with a half-second left. Bamisile and Jack Clark each scored 17 points for VCU (28-6). Shulga, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, hit 8 of 9 from the line as the Rams converted 22 of 27. Haynes led George Mason (26-8) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Maddox had 12 points to go with three steals and Anderson and Brayden O'Connor each added 10 points. Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason finished the regular season tied for the regular season championship with 15-3 records. The Rams reached the conference championship game for the ninth time since joining the A-10 in 2012-13.
NBC Sports
16-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
VCU holds off George Mason 68-63 to claim Atlantic 10 title and NCAA berth
WASHINGTON — Max Shulga scored 18 points and Joe Bamisile sealed the win with two free throws with a half-second left as Virginia Commonwealth held off George Mason 66-63 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship Sunday. VCU led by eight at the break, 36-28, but George Mason got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jared Billups and Woody Newton to trail by just two, 45-43 with more than 12 minutes to play. Shulga answered with a 3 and hit a pair of free throws before finding Jack Clark for a 3 to push the VCU lead to 53-43. Darius Maddox hit a 3 with 2:27 left to get the Patriots within one at 59-58. Coming out of a timeout, Shulga held the ball at the top of the key, then calmly knocked down a step-back 3 with 1:59 left. Jalen Haynes' layup with 39 seconds left got George Mason within 3 but Zach Anderson missed a 3-pointer with :04 left and Newton was forced to foul Bamisile with a half-second left. Bamisile and Jack Clark each scored 17 points for VCU (28-6). Shulga, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, hit 8 of 9 from the line as the Rams converted 22 of 27. Haynes led George Mason (26-8) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Maddox had 12 points to go with three steals and Anderson and Brayden O'Connor each added 10 points. Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason finished the regular season tied for the regular season championship with 15-3 records. The Rams reached the conference championship game for the ninth time since joining the A-10 in 2012-13.
Fox Sports
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
VCU holds off George Mason to claim Atlantic 10 title and NCAA berth
Max Shulga scored 18 points and Joe Bamisile sealed the win with two free throws with a half-second left as VCU held off George Mason 66-63 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship on Sunday. VCU led by eight at the break, 36-28, but George Mason got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jared Billups and Woody Newton to trail by just two, 45-43, with more than 12 minutes to play. Shulga answered with a 3 and hit a pair of free throws before finding Jack Clark for a 3 to push the VCU lead to 53-43. Darius Maddox hit a 3 with 2:27 left to get the Patriots within one at 59-58. Coming out of a timeout, Shulga held the ball at the top of the key, then calmly knocked down a step-back 3 with 1:59 left. Jalen Haynes' layup with 39 seconds left got George Mason within 3, but Zach Anderson missed a 3-pointer with :04 left and Newton was forced to foul Bamisile with a half-second left. Bamisile and Jack Clark each scored 17 points for VCU (28-6). Shulga, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, hit 8 of 9 from the line as the Rams converted 22 of 27. Haynes led George Mason (26-8) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Maddox had 12 points to go with three steals and Anderson and Brayden O'Connor each added 10 points. VCU and George Mason finished the regular season tied for the regular season championship with 15-3 records. The Rams reached the conference championship game for the ninth time since joining the A-10 in 2012-13. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
