Bruins end Rams’ season, Maynor’s VCU career

Two years ago, Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover) hit the game-winning shot against Duke to send the Rams to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Against UCLA this past Thursday night in Philadelphia, however, Maynor’s last-second attempt came up short.

“I give credit to UCLA,” Maynor said. “I had a shot at the end, it didn’t fall for me … In my mind I think I settled.”

“We fought hard,” said VCU coach Anthony Grant. “They played a very good game.”

Maynor’s last-second shot attempt was the culmination of a second-half comeback attempt that fell short as the Rams lost to the Bruins, 65-64, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Turnovers killed the Rams in the first half.

VCU started the game with a turnover as Darren Collison stole the ball from the Rams.

A few minutes later, Jrue Holiday stole the ball from Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell) and dunked it on the other end to give the Bruins a 7-4 lead.

A couple of minutes after, the Rams committed another turnover that led to a layup by UCLA’s Alfred Aboya.

But the Rams fought back.

The Rams went on an 8-0 run highlighted by 3-pointers by Bradford Burgess (Midlothian/Benedictine) and Rodriguez to give the Rams a 23-22 lead.

UCLA answered with a 13-0 run sparked by 3-pointers from Collison and Josh Shipp.

The Bruins led at the half, 35-25.

The Rams committed nine turnovers in the first half which led to 14 points for the Bruins.

VCU spent the second half cutting into the Bruins’ lead.

The Rams cut the lead to 39-34 several minutes into the second half. Burgess hit another 3-pointer and Maynor was fouled as he made a layup driving into the lane.

With about seven minutes left in the game, the Bruins opened the lead back The Rams went on a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 61-58 with 3:15 remaining. Maynor scored half the points in that run as he connected on a floater in the lane and followed up with a 3-pointer after Holiday made a layup seconds earlier.

With about two minutes remaining, Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) blocked a Collison layup attempt. Maynor recovered the blocked shot and passed to T.J. Gwynn (Burlington, N.C./Cummings) for a layup on the other end to cut UCLA’s lead to 63-60.

After the layup, Aboya missed a layup and Burgess rebounded the miss and was fouled by Holiday. Burgess made the free throws to cut the lead to 63-62 with 1:19 remaining.

After Aboya and Maynor made a pair of free throws, UCLA led 65-64 with 48 seconds left.

VCU played great defense on the Bruins’ last possession.

Sanders blocked another Collison shot. The Bruins’ Nikola Dragovic got the rebound with a few seconds remaining on the shot clock and missed the rim with a hurried 3-point attempt. The missed shot resulted in a shot-clock violation, which set the stage for the final 13 seconds of the game.

On the inbound, UCLA double teamed Maynor. Once Maynor got the ball, he advanced it down the court while harassed by Collison the whole way.

Collison’s defense forced Maynor to attempt an 18-foot fadeaway at the buzzer. It fell short.

“I felt like it was short when I released it,” Maynor said. “I tried to get a good shot but Collison got back in front of the ball.”

Maynor ended his final collegiate game with 21 points and seven assists.

“I don’t want to think about life without him,” said Sanders, who finished the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

“There have been ups and downs,” Maynor said. “It’s been great, just bad to end with a down.”

Maynor finished his collegiate career as the VCU’s leader in points (1,953) and assists (674). He won two CAA player of the year awards and had his jersey retired by VCU.

The Rams finished the season 24-10.