VCU RALLIES PAST GEORGE MASON 65-59 TO CAPTURE CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TITLE
RICHMOND, Va. - Top-seeded VCU staged a dramatic comeback in the final two minutes and defeated #6 George Mason 65-59 in the title game of the 2007 Aeropostale CAA Men’s Basketball Championship before a sell-out crowd of 11,200 at the Richmond Coliseum Monday night.
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2007 CAA Champs VCU |
One year after capturing the imagination of the college basketball world with a miraculous run to the Final Four, Mason looked primed to become the first team in league history to win four games in four days by taking a 57-52 advantage with just 2:22 remaining. However, the Rams’ Eric Maynor would have no part of it.
The first-team All-CAA guard single-handedly spurred a 9-0 run all by himself on his way to a 20-point, championship Most Outstanding Player-performance.
The top-seeded Rams (27-6) earned the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win, which was its second in the past four years. George Mason, which was the first six-seed to make the championship game since James Madison in 1997, fell to 18-15 despite nearly pulling off its third upset in three days.
The conference couldn’t have asked for a closer contest in the final, which was a rematch of the 2004 title game that also featured a gut-wrenching outcome (55-54) in VCU’s favor. Monday’s final was played before a sell-out crowd for the first time in league history, and the battle between the cheering contingents in the stands was just as intense as the action on the court.
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VCU Crowd Storms the court. |
The game was a back-and-forth physical battle, one that was tied at 52 apiece with just over three minutes remaining. At the 2:57 mark, Mason’s Will Thomas muscled home an improbable dunk while getting fouled, and converted the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play. Teammate Folarin Campbell drained a pair of his own free throws at 2:22 to give the Patriots a five-point lead, and seemingly, the game’s final momentum swing. It was then that Maynor took over the show.
The sophomore, who headed up the Rams’ full-court trapping press throughout the game, made a steal in the backcourt and converted a lay-up while getting fouled by Mason’s Gabe Norwood with 1:54 remaining. His free-throw try was true, and the Patriots’ lead was cut to two, 57-55. As Norwood began to dribble up the floor on the next possession, Maynor quickly snatched the ball again, and tied the game at 57 with a lay-up.
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Mason Coach Jim Larranaga |
Following a Mason timeout, the VCU defense forced Campbell into an errant three-point attempt as the shot clock expired - a miss that Maynor gathered in as part of his seven rebounds on the night. He then drove the lane to hit an off-balance jumper with 45 seconds remaining, putting VCU up 59-57.
Mason had a chance to tie on a Campbell layup, but Wil Fameni swatted it into the Patriots’ student-section with 30 ticks left. Dre Smith then missed a three-pointer off the inbounds pass, and Maynor grabbed the board before being intentionally fouled. He drained the two free throws with 19 seconds on the clock to cap his personal 9-0 run and give the Rams a 61-57 lead.
A Norwood jumper was sandwiched by four B.A. Walker free throws to reach the final score.
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VCU Coach Anthony Grant |
The win completed a three-game sweep on the season for the Rams over the Patriots. VCU won 75-62 on Jan. 24 in Fairfax, and 63-49 on Feb. 8 in Richmond. The 27 wins for VCU is a school-record, and is the third-ever CAA championship for the Rams. All three titles have come after being the league’s top team in the regular season, and this year’s win extended a five-year streak in which the league champion has been a No. 1 seed.
The first half was a see-saw physical battle, as the two squads slugged it out to an intermission score of 31-27 in Mason’s favor. Although the teams shot a combined 50 percent in the half, the score was tied at just 13 with under eight minutes to go after VCU used its full-court defense to hurry the Patriots, and Mason forced the Rams to settle for a 1-7 performance from the arc due to an in-your-jersey style of defense. The Rams took their first lead of the game at 7:38 on a Maynor free throw, and the scoring picked up from there to the tune of six ties and four lead changes. Mason took the four-point lead into the half after embarking on a 10-4 run over the last three minutes.
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Folarin Campbell, Mason |
For the game, Maynor tallied four assists and three steals to go with his 20 points and seven rebounds. He was joined by three other Rams in double-figures, and Fameni tallied 13 ? including 11 in the first half ? to go with eight rebounds. Fellow big-man Calvin Roland picked up the slack in the second stanza, netting 10 of his 12 after the half. Walker chipped in 10 including a 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line.
George Mason was paced by Smith, who had 12 points on 5-of-13 shopoting. He drained a pair of three-pointers to total 14 in the Patriots’ four-games, a mark that stands as the new tournament record. Thomas and Norwood each tallied 10 points apiece.
Joining Maynor on the All-Tournament Team were teammates Michael Anderson and Jesse Pellot-Rosa, in addition to Mason’s Campbell and Smith, and Drexel’s Frank Elegar.