RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -Eric Maynor scored eight of his 28 points in the final 3:58 to help Virginia Commonwealth hold off George Mason 76-71 on Saturday.
The Patriots cut a 15-point Rams lead to one point with 4:24 left. Maynor stopped the rally with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 68-64 with 3:58 remaining.
Brandon Rozzell gave the Rams (15-5, 8-1 Colonial Athletic Association) a 71-64 lead with a 3-pointer with 1 second left on the shot clock and 2:59 left in the game.
The Patriots (14-5, 7-2) got no closer than four the rest of the way as the Rams won their seventh straight game.
Maynor also had six assists - taking over the top spot on the school's career list with 587 - and three steals.
Larry Sanders added 15 points, Kirill Pishchalnikov had 11 and Rozzell scored 10 for the Rams, who shot 45.6 percent (26 of 57) against the CAA's leader in field-goal percent defense.
Cam Long led the Patriots with a career-high 24 points. Dre Smith added 16 points, Ryan Pearson 12 and Darryl Monroe 10.
George Mason outrebounded Virginia Commonwealth 40-27.
Virginia Commonwealth outscored George Mason 25-11 over the final 8:08 of the first half to rally from a seven-point deficit to a 39-32 halftime lead. Maynor scored all 12 of his first-half points in the final 6:48.
The Rams were 14 of 14 from the free-throw line in the first half.
