Northeastern brought their deliberate style of play with them to the Siegel Center, VCU’s home court on W. Broad St. On Monday night, before a crowd of 5,741 and a regional television audience, the visiting Huskies imposed their will and their style on the frustrated Rams: Northeastern 62, VCU 57.

Coming into the game VCU led the CAA in scoring. The Rams had won four consecutive contests; their last effort produced a blowout win over UNC Wilmington on Saturday afternoon. The Rams had won every game played on their floor since Northeastern upset them last season on Jan. 27, 2009. The Huskies’ game plan and execution stiff-armed the Rams momentum and held them to their lowest point total of the current season.

“All the things that I was proud about with the way we played Saturday are the same things that I’m disappointed in tonight,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said. “They were tougher than we were. They were more resilient and it showed.”

Smart was right. The Rams didn’t defend their home court because they didn’t show up. Unlike the fortunate victory over East Carolina last week, this time VCU couldn’t negate a poor performance for most of the game with a flurry of activity in the last six minutes of play. This time the Rams weren’t allowed to atone for their lack of focus.

“They play so physical,” said Joey Rodriguez, “it takes a lot out of you.”

“We have to take this and learn from it and then move on,” Larry Sanders said. “We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. It’s about learning from our mistakes and getting better each day.”

Click here to see the box score.

For their next assignment the Rams (9-3, 1-2 in CAA) will travel on Wednesday to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on the Drexel Dragons (7-8, 2-1 in CAA).