Oregon State vs. VCU: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

VCU may have a new head coach, but it continues to find success in March with a 75-67 victory over Oregon State in the round of 64. 

The Rams, playing in their sixth straight NCAA tournament, got by with a mix of impressive shooting from inside the arc and ferocious defense that kept Oregon State off balance virtually the entire game. 

It's hardly a surprise that VCU kept Oregon State from finding an offensive rhythm. Its strength during the regular season was on defense, ranking 29th in efficiency on that side of the ball, per Sports-Reference.com. 

Oregon State was having little luck early in the first half attacking the rim, as VCU defenders were swatting shots away like flies, via B/R:

That intensity helped make up for the fact that VCU only made one three-pointer through the first 31 minutes. The Rams would find their shooting stroke late in the second half, as Melvin Johnson and JeQuan Lewis made threes in the span of 69 seconds to halt an Oregon State rally. 

Lewis did a little bit of everything for VCU in the win, scoring 21 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing seven rebounds. 

Mo Alie-Cox ignited the late spark for VCU during a 6-0 run with this huge and-one under the basket:

Cox's free throw gave VCU a 58-52 lead with 6.5 minutes left to play. The junior finished the game with 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the victory. 

Matthew Hatfield of VirginiaPreps.com noted that Cox is a testament to VCU's ability to find unheralded talent:

Oregon State did not go gently into that goodnight, battling back from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to briefly take a 51-49 lead on this huge dunk from Gary Payton II:

Payton, who is the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton, carried Oregon State's offense when the rest of the team was struggling to hit shots consistently. The senior star finished with 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead noted how the matchup between VCU and Oregon State gradually turned into a game of one-upmanship between Alie-Cox and Payton as the Beavers were making their run:

That's what March madness is supposed to be about. Teams ultimately win games, which is how VCU pulled away, but stars have to step up in those moments when they are needed. 

With the win, per Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports, VCU head coach Will Wade did earn a new, albeit completely made-up title:

For the record, Wade is just 33 years old. He could be a student at VCU and no one would bat an eye, but his team will be getting ready for another tournament game on Sunday against the winner of Oklahoma-Cal State Bakersfield. 

Oregon State's season didn't end the way anyone wanted it to, but this still has to be considered a good year for the program. The Beavers made the tournament for the first time since 1990 and head coach Wayne Tinkle has guided them to consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1988-90. 

The Rams may not have Shaka Smart on the bench anymore, but Wade has made for a very nice replacement and this team's chemistry makes them very dangerous no matter who they are playing.

Cinderella may not be wearing a glass slipper at VCU quite yet, but she's definitely booking a flight to Richmond, Virginia. 

Post-Game Reaction

Lewis' stellar game was one of the talking points after VCU's win, particularly for senior Melvin Johnson, via ESPN.com: "Coming into the game, I told him, `I don't have many of these left,' and if he could do me a favor, it would be for him to be aggressive. And he was extremely aggressive."

Wade expanded his praise, via the same ESPN report, saying his guys have been through the grind of March: "And you've got to roll with them, and that's what we did today."

Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle did not take comfort in leading the program back to the NCAA tournament, per Oregon State Hoops:

While not exactly celebratory in defeat, Payton did take a more optimistic view of what the Beavers accomplished this season, per Oregon State Hoops:

VCU has the tournament experience and used that to its advantage on Friday, building momentum heading into the weekend. Oregon State gained valuable experience it can take into next season. 

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.