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VIDEO: VCU wins a game by taking a charge on an inbounds pass with 0.4 seconds left

Will Wade

Virginia Commonwealth head coach Will Wade talks with the media during a practice for a first-round men’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 17, 2016, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

AP

If VCU head coach Will Wade hasn’t bought a Powerball ticket, it may be a good time for him to do so.

On Wednesday night, the Rams picked up a win on one of the oldest and most basic plays in college basketball. Let me set the stage for you: VCU and Georgetown Washington are locked in a barn-burner. With 10 seconds left, VCU’s JeQuan Lewis misses a free throw that sets up a possession that ends with GW’s Yuta Watanabe hitting what should have been a game-winning three:

Time expired, but 0.4 seconds were put back on the block, which means that VCU basically needed a miracle in order to survive their road trip to Foggy Bottom, and a miracle is exactly what they got. On the ensuing inbounds, Lewis redeemed himself for the missed free throw drawing a foul - it’s technically not a charge because Lewis is on offense, but he took a charge - on the man defending the inbounder.

Check this out:

Here’s another angle of the play:

Lewis hit two free throws at the other end of the floor and GW’s prayers weren’t answered.

What this means is that, for the second straight game, VCU has won on the road despite falling behind when their opponent hit a three with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. On Saturday, they earned a free throw after St. Bonaventure was whistled for a technical foul for interference after a would-be game-winner.

VCU is right on the bubble. The only reason they are still in tournament contention - and in first place in the Atlantic 10 - is because of those two wins.