Senior leads VCU with 28 points as Rams down Patriots, 76-71
For the first 13 minutes of its Colonial Athletic Association clash with VCU, George Mason’s strategy to contain Rams star Eric Maynor was more like “Operation Shutdown.”
But once Maynor got his explosive game in gear, there was no stopping the conference scoring leader or his Rams. Scoring 28 points in the final 27 minutes, Maynor led VCU to a 76-71 victory before 7,594 fans at the noisy Siegel Center.
After failing to score against Mason guard Cameron Long in the first 13 minutes, Maynor got into the flow with the help of a blistering VCU press, which accounted for most of the Patriots’ 14 turnovers and produced several easy baskets for the Rams.
“We gave them way to many open-court opportunities,” said Mason coach Jim Larranaga. “The reason Eric was allowed to go off was because, when they [make steals], the ball’s in his hands in a split second. He’s able to gallop the ball up the floor and get a basket for himself or get fouled.”
With the win, VCU (15-5, 8-1) pulled ahead of Mason (14-5, 7-2) in the CAA. Northeastern, which was 14-5, 7-1 heading into a conference game Saturday night at Old Dominion, plays at VCU Tuesday night on ESPNU. In a conference with unbalanced scheduling, Mason will not get another shot at VCU until the CAA Tournament.
On an afternoon when Patriot forwards Ryan Pearson (30 minutes, 12 points, 7 rebounds) and Louis Birdsong (14 minutes, 0 points) fouled out, Mason also missed leader and defensive stopper John Vaughan (concussion). According to Larranaga, Vaughan’s role as a trigger man for inbound passes was not adequately filled.
“He [normally] throws it in to Cam Long. The guys who had to do that tonight, that’s not their primary role,” said Larranaga. “Just that little difference, we rushed a little bit. You get a little bit anxious, you’re gonna make mistakes.”
In a physical, see-saw game, full of adrenaline-fueled swings, VCU surged to a 10-3 lead before Mason answered with an 18-4 run to take its biggest lead, 21-14. Pearson, a 6-foot-6 forward, came off the bench and got three put-back baskets as Mason dominated the boards. For the game, the Patriots out-rebounded the Rams, 40-27.
But using its press, VCU went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead. When Maynor capped the rally, hitting a floater with 6 minutes, 54 seconds left in the half, it broke his dry spell and triggered a flood. With Maynor scoring 10 points, VCU tallied on 12 of its final 13 possessions of the half to take a 39-32 lead.
“We always stress about getting in transition,” said Maynor, who led VCU to a memorable NCAA Tournament victory over Duke in 2007. “We got into the press and we got a couple of steals. That allowed me to get a few baskets. It helped me out a lot.”
In the second half, VCU grabbed its biggest lead, 55-40, after Maynor forced a 10-second violation against Mason, leading to a layup by guard Bradford Burgess.
But Mason retaliated behind Long, a 6-foot-4 guard, who scored 17 of his career-high 24 points in the second half.
An inside basket by Mason forward Darryl Monroe (10 points) pulled the Patriots to within a point, 65-64, with just over 4 minutes left. But Maynor hit the biggest shot of the game a 25-foot 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key.
In the final 1:13, Maynor added an old-fashioned 3-point play and a pair of free throws to sew it up.
“Down the stretch, Eric Maynor just took over,” said Larranaga. “In my mind there have been three players in this league since I have been in this conference that have had a greater impact than any other players, those who could elevate their program to another level.”
Larranaga said the first was George Evans (George Mason). The second was Brett Blizzard (UNC-Wilmington). He didn’t have to say who the third was.
“He has the ability to elevate his game at any moment.” said Larranaga.
Notes » The game was on ESPN2 … VCU’s pair of 6-10 frontcourt men, Larry Sanders (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Kirill Pishchalnikov (11 points, 6 rebounds) hit a combined 9 of 17 from the floor … Mason guard Dre Smith (16 points) hit 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, including key threes to get the Patriots’ started in each half.
