Duke ousted
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Christian Laettner sat six rows back of the Duke bench, but it was Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor who hit the kind of shot Laettner made famous.
VCU beat Duke 79-77 Thursday night on Maynor’s step-back jumper just beyond the free-throw line with 1.8 seconds left in an exhilarating West Regional game.
Greg Paulus took a desperation shot for Duke at the buzzer, but it didn’t have that Laettner magic that produced tournament wins for Duke against Connecticut and Kentucky in the 1990s.
The Rams danced around the court. Paulus sank to his knees, and the crowd roared its approval.
Duke (22-11) lost a first-round game for the first time since 1996. VCU won a tournament game for the first time since 1985.
Maynor grew up in Fayetteville, N.C., wanting to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Thursday, he beat their biggest rival with 22 points, six in the last 1:21.
His first two baskets in the closing moments came on drives to the right in the lane. On the first, he collided with Jon Scheyer, who briefly left the game with a cut under his left eye.
The teams traded baskets in the closing minutes until Duke’s DeMarcus Nelson scored on a driving layup with 10.6 seconds left to tie the score at 77. Maynor said he looked toward the bench to let coach Anthony Grant know he didn’t want a timeout. He just wanted the ball.
Maynor dribbled to the top of the lane and faked a drive to the right, then pulled up and nailed the shot over Scheyer.
“We were just trying to match up and stop the ball,” Nelson said. “(Maynor) just made a tough shot.”
Scheyer said he tried to force Maynor left because he had gone right twice before. “If I could go back, I wouldn’t give him so much space,” Scheyer said. “But it happened so fast.”
Duke led for most of the night, including by double digits in both halves. VCU (28-6) led only briefly and never by more than two.
“You wonder how they got a lead,” Scheyer said, shaking his head. “We were winning the whole game.”
Paulus (25 points) and Josh McRoberts (22) had career highs for Duke, but it was not enough. Jesse Pellot-Rosa and Jamal Shuler scored 14 for VCU.
“These guys believed all year,” Grant said, “that if we came out and played to our identity we could win” the CAA and “go deep into the NCAA tournament.”
Maynor had little time to think as he brought the ball up on the climactic play. “I was able to get to the rim” on the two earlier possessions, he said, and if he could get his defender “off balance a bit I’d be able to get off a short jumper. And that’s the way it happened.”
Last week, Maynor scored nine consecutive points at the end of the Colonial Athletic Association championship game to beat George Mason. Now the Rams are George Mason: an 11 seed from the CAA that won a first-round game in dramatic fashion and now can go who knows how far.
Virginia Commonwealth’s players skipped around the court when Paulus’ shot was wide. Some tugged on their shirts to show off the letters: VCU. On this night, at least, they stood for Very Courageous Upset.