By Nick Bond

Even at the mid-level of major college basketball, the quality of each team is so deep as to prevent what happened this past Saturday at the Mack from happening, as VCU senior guard Eric Maynor ran over the Pride with a remarkable 21 of his game-high 33 points in the second half to pull the Rams out of a seven-point hole on their way to a four-point victory, 66-62, ending the team’s four game win streak.  It was not, however, just the play of Maynor, that proved to be too much for the Pride to overcome in this heated conference battle as shooting struggles, poor officiating and an even poorer home crowd would render useless the team’s superlative first half effort.

Strong defense and quality work on the boards were the story of the first half as the Pride consistently controlled both the tempo and tone of the game, out-rebounding the Rams by one point a margin which would be greater if one does not include the team leaders for each team as Maynor’s five closed the gap considerably between the two teams and out-scored them by ten in the paint, putting up 14 points in the basket from close range.

Crucial to the team’s success in the half was the play of captain Charles Jenkins, who scored a respectable 22 points -a full 4.1 points higher than his season average – to lead the squad, while playing quality defense against Maynor for much of the first half.  But it was his poor performance on the defensive end in the second half that would play a major factor in the Pride’s downfall.

Jenkins was aware of his folly, saying after the game, “Coach gave me the assignment and I was willing to accept, and I didn’t do a good job tonight.” When asked whether having to put in such considerable effort on both sides of the court affected his play, he retorted, “That’s what Coach expects from me. Coach says that with greatness comes responsibility, and if I want to be the face of the program that’s what I have to expect as a player, so it’s no excuse.”

What may have been an excuse for the loss was the decidedly one-sided officiating, causing even the usually reticent Coach Pecora remarked, “There were stretches where I felt was like I was in Richmond instead of Hempstead.” The officiating, which was troublesome all game, reached its low point on an egregiously bad call on a supposed shot clock violation.

The call was problematic on two levels, as not only did it seem that the ball touched the rim, even if it did not, possession was achieved by VCU before it was subsequently stolen by Hofstra swingman Cornelius Vines.

The call would be prove to be a pivotal point in the game, essentially turning the dagger in an already wounded Pride.

If the Pride hope to salvage their season and make it to a postseason tournament, they must avoid the missteps and lost chances that they suffered through in this game.

Barring that, it looks like the Pride will be watching the postseason from their dorm rooms.