Maynor’s historic day leads Rams to victory

The VCU Rams took to the Alltel Pavilion court Saturday with a couple of goals in mind. They wanted to win their season-high seventh game in a row and also remain tied atop the CAA standings.

The Rams had won three of the last four over rival George Mason, which was without its leading scorer, John Vaughan, coming into the game. Saturday, VCU would continue its dominance against its familiar foe, winning 76-71.

A sellout crowd, most of whom were dressed in black, saw senior Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover) do what he has proven himself able to do time and time again-lead the Rams to victory.

“He (Maynor) is one heck of a basketball player. . He has the ability to elevate his game at any moment,” said George Mason coach Jim Larranaga.

Maynor was held scoreless until the 6:52 mark of the first half. But after that runner in the lane, the superstar point guard was able to score 28 points, moving him ahead of Rams legends Domonic Jones and Calvin Duncan for fourth all-time on the VCU career scoring list.

Maynor also had six assists in the game making him VCU’s all-time leader in that category.

“It feels good being able to get that accomplishment, but I always say that you wouldn’t be able to get an assist without your teammates,” said Maynor.

The Rams raced out to a 10-2 lead, but the Patriots answered with a 19-2 run of their own, and the game was nip and tuck until halftime. The Rams headed to the locker room with a seven point advantage.

Early in the second half, the Rams would try to pull away again, at one point leading by 15. But a resilient Mason team again answered the bell going on a 15-5 run to pull within three at the 6:08 mark.

“Our guys showed some resiliency when we got down double digits in the second half. We battled and made it real interesting, but were not able to get over the hump,” Larranaga said.

Down the stretch, a big pair of threes from Maynor and Bradford Burgess (Midlothian/Benedictine) kept the Rams slightly ahead, and they were able to finish off the Patriots.

The Rams once again got big contributions from their younger players. They would put four players in double figures.

Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) finished a highlight-packed afternoon with 15 points and 7 rebounds, Junior Kirill Pishchalnikov (Maykop, Russia/ MGGTK AGU) had 11 points and Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs) posted 10 points.

Sophomore Cam Long led Mason with 24, and Dre Smith finished with 16.

“I thought tonight our guys came in with really good focus. . Guys stepped up and made plays. . We were able to make big plays (down the stretch) that ultimately won the game for us,” said VCU coach Anthony Grant.

The Rams are back in action Tuesday against Northeastern, where they will try to improve to 10-0 at home this season. The game will have added importance, because the winner will take sole possession of first place in the CAA.

By the numbers

George Mason (14-5, 7-2 CAA)
Smith 16, Cornelius 2, Long 24, Monroe 10, Birdsong 0, Tate 7, Morrison 0, Pearson 12
Totals: 24 15-21 71 3-pointers: Smith 4, Long 2, Tate 2

VCU (15-5, 8-1 CAA)

Sanders 15, Pishchalnikov 11, Maynor 28, Rodriguez 5, Burgess 5, Saintil 0, Russell 10, Smith 0, Nixon 2 Totals: 26 17-22 76
3-pointers: Maynor 3, Rodriguez 1, Rozzell 2, Burgess 1