VCU steals a win from St. Bonaventure thanks to controversial call

VCU may have come away with an 83-77 overtime win over St. Bonaventure, but everybody is going to be talking about how the game ended up in overtime in the first place.

Trailing by two with under five seconds to go in regulation, the Bonnies inbounded the ball to Matt Mobley under their own basket. Mobley shot-faked the defender, and hit a stepback three to put the Bonnies up one with only 0.4 seconds to go.

Then chaos ensued. St. Bonaventure was called for a technical foul for players on the bench and students coming onto the court during the celebration. VCU was awarded a free throw, and JeQuan Lewis converted to send the game to overtime.

Going into the extra frame, the momentum had shifted completely in the Rams’ favor. The Rams outscored the Bonnies in the extra frame by a margin of 17-11, and came away with a six point victory.

For VCU, this win is huge for its postseason aspirations. It keeps the Rams on pace with Dayton for the A-10 lead, and gives them another road win for their tournament resume.

For the Bonnies, this one will sting. The ambiguity of the controversial technical foul will be a hot topic among the college basketball community, but it will really sting in the St. Bonaventure locker room. A win over VCU would have given the Bonnie's a marquee A-10 win and kept them in the hunt.

As far as the technical goes, there’s uncertainty on whether it’s the correct call or not. Seth Davis of CBS Sports thinks it was not:

This could wind up as a game that makes or breaks a season for both VCU and the Bonnies.

UPDATE: The Atlantic 10 released the following statement after the game:

The decision to assess a one-shot technical foul for the delay of game at the end of the VCU-St. Bonaventure game was a correct call. The conference office has reviewed the end of the game, and spoken to the Atlantic 10 Coordinator of Officiating, who verified that it was in fact the correct call.