MEN’S BASKETBALL- Monarchs get revenge on Rams

As the saying goes, all good things
must come to an end. For VCU, its homewinning
streak against Old Dominion
is that good thing. Brian Henderson
hit a late 3-pointer and stripped Eric
Maynor (Raeford,
N.C./Westover) of
the ball as time expired
to lead ODU
to a 67-66 victory
Saturday night, its
first at the Stuart C.
Siegel Center.

The Rams beat the Monarchs 78-68
in Norfolk Jan. 19.

“I’m really happy for Brian Henderson
– a senior from Richmond – to have the
late game performance that he had,” said
Monarchs head coach Blaine Taylor.

Henderson scored 18 of his team-high
20 points in the second half, including
what proved to be the game-clinching
shot. After Brandon Johnson put Old
Dominion ahead 64-63 with a pair of
free throws with 1:03 remaining, Maynor
drove into the lane and attempted a
layup that would have put VCU back on
top. The shot went in, but Maynor was
called for charging, thus negating the
basket and giving the ball back to the
Monarchs. On the ensuing possession,
the Monarchs held the ball until late in
caught the ball in the corner,
pump-faked, then hit a 3-pointer
with the shot clock dwindling to
put ODU up 67-63.

Senior guard Jamal Shuler
(Jacksonville, N.C./Jacksonville)
answered with a 3-pointer of his
own with seven seconds remaining
to bring the Rams within 1 point at
67-66. Maynor fouled Darius James
before the inbound pass could be
made, sending the Old Dominion
freshman to the line for two shots.
James missed both attempts, giving
the Rams a shot to win the
game. Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce,
Fla./Port St. Lucie) rebounded the
second miss and gave the ball to
Maynor, who quickly dribbled up
the court inside the 3-point line
before being stripped of the ball
by Henderson as he went up for
a shot. The Siegel Center erupted
in boos and yells from Rams fans
and the VCU bench, both wanting
a foul on the last play. VCU
coach Anthony Grant declined to
comment on the play.

“I haven’t seen it yet; I probably
need to review it before I comment
on it,” Grant said.

The first half was a back-andforth
battle that was eventually
won by the Rams. VCU trailed
33-29 with two minutes left in the half before Maynor
buried a 3-pointer, T.J. Gwynn (Burlington, N.C./Cummings)
tipped in his own miss and Shuler threw down
a dunk on an alley-oop pass from Maynor to give the
Rams a 36-33 lead at the break.

The battle flooded into the second half as two ties
and four lead changes occurred in the first 10 minutes.
VCU appeared to have taken control after a pair of
Joey Rodriguez free throws capped a 10-0 run that
gave the Rams a 58-51 lead. A pair of Maynor free
throws with 2:10 remaining gave VCU what appeared
to be a solid lead, but the Monarchs staged a 10-0 run
of their own, including Henderson’s clinching shot to
take control.

Maynor led all scorers with 25 points and also had
a game-high eight assists. Shuler scored 19 points and
hit five of VCU’s season-high 11 3-pointers.

Coach Grant was unhappy with his team’s defensive
effort in defeat.

“We’ve got to be able to defend better,” Grant said.
“We’ve got to find a way to get ourselves to the free
throw line and rebound the basketball.”

Shuler thinks the team will get past the loss and
continue to improve.

“Tomorrow we’ll move on from it. We’re not a team
that lives in the past. We’re No. 1 in the conference
still. We’ll get a new momentum and move on,” he
said.

A sellout crowd of 7,592 witnessed the Monarchs
win at the Siegel Center for the first time in nine tries.
The sellout was the fourth of the season, a VCU record.
The game included seven ties and 13 lead changes.

—
The Score

ODU 67

VCU 66

By the numbers:

Old Dominion (9-6 CAA, 14-13):
Lee 13, Hassell 4, Finney 8, James
5, Henderson 20, Lidonde 0, Johnson
14, Harris 0, Carter 0, Adams 3.
Totals: 26 9-20 67. 3-pointers: Henderson
2, Johnson, James, Adams.

VCU (12-3, 19-6): Pishchalnikov 4,
Anderson 0, Maynor 25, Rodriguez
5, Shuler 19, Sanders 2, Fameni 2,
Rozzell 3, Kearse 4, Gwynn 2, Nixon
0. Totals: 23 9-10 66. 3-pointers:
Shuler 5, Maynor 4, Rodriguez,
Rozzell.