Jan. 19, 2008
NORFOLK, VA--Jamal Shuler and Eric Maynor each scored 26 pointsto lead the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University (13-4/6-1) toa 78-68 victory over Old Dominion (9-10/4-3) Saturday afternoon in frontof a sellout crowd of 8424 at the Constant Convocation Center.
ODU trailed by 19, 62-43 with 6:02 left in the game, then cut the lead toTo five with 1:39 remaining on a three-pointer by senior Abdi Lidonde.
Shuler came right back with a bucket and a free throw to give the Rams a 72-68 lead. Lidonde hit another trey to cut it back to five at 72-67 with 1:16 left, but Eric Maynor hit a bucket and after a Monarch miss, Michael Anderson scored to put it at nine, at 76-67.
VCU jumped out to a 23-9 lead with 10:43 left in the first half and 41-26 at Halftime.
Three Monarchs scored in double figures led by Gerald Lee with 15 pointsAnd seven rebounds, followed by Brian Henderson with 13 points and freshman Ben Finney scored 11 with eight rebounds. Brandon Johnson led ODU with five assists and four more steals.
In addition to scoring 26 points, Maynor dished out ten assists and grabbed six rebounds, while Shuler hauled down 11 boards. Both combined for 9-16 from beyond the arc.
ODU shot .390 (.23-59) from the floor, while VCU hit .517 (30-58). VCUalso outrebounded the Monarchs, 40-35.
The sellout crowd was the third of the year at the Ted and tenth overall since The building opened in the 2002-03 season.
ODU returns to action Wednesday night with an 8 p.m. contest against George Mason in Fairfax, Va. The contest will be televised on WSKY4 in Hampton Roads.