They lost it all in 14 seconds.

That’s how long it took for Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor to steal the ball from Dre Smith, drive downcourt, hit a layup while getting fouled by Gabe Norwood, steal the ball from Norwood as he brought it up court, and hit another layup. A five-point lead – with the ball – had disappeared for Mason. After Folarin Campbell missed a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down, Maynor went to work again, getting the roll on an off-balance runner over Darryl Monroe and giving the Rams a 59-57 lead with 45 seconds remaining.

Campbell had a tough layup blocked out of bounds on the ensuing Mason possession. Smith missed a good look at a triple with 20 ticks left, and Monroe was called for an intentional foul for grabbing Maynor’s jersey on the rebound. Maynor hit both free throws to extend the lead to four, and B.A. Walker added another pair with Mason forced to foul to get the ball back, and VCU hung on for a 65-59 win.

The stunning loss provided a bitter end to a sensational weekend for the Patriots, who entered Monday night’s championship playing confidently after convincing wins over James Madison, Hofstra, and Old Dominion in the first three rounds of the tournament. But Mason needed the automatic bid that comes with winning the conference tournament to make the Big Dance, and they fell 14 seconds short. Campbell and Smith were named to the all-tournament team.
-Hayden Alfano

Georgetown Is King in Big East
After a letdown game against Syracuse last Monday at the Carrier Dome, Georgetown got back to their winning ways last Saturday and took care of UConn, 59-46. In doing so, the Hoyas grabbed sole possession of first place and the regular season Big East crown. The achievement added a fourth conference title in only seven years to young coach John Thompson III's gaudy resume.

The Hoyas will enter the Big East tourney as one of the nation's elite teams, residing in the top 10 of most national polls. Because of their first round bye, they will play their first game Thursday. This gives them a slight disadvantage, as they won't know if they will have to prepare for DePaul or Villanova until Wednesday afternoon. The Hoyas handled the Blue Demons easily in their only meeting of the year, but fell to the Wildcats in early January at the Verizon Center. Though they did redeem themselves with a victory at Villanova later in the season, the Wildcats they should still be the more difficult matchup.

Maryland Riding Momentum Into ACC Tournament
The winning streak stands at seven. After sweeping season meetings against UNC and Duke, Maryland did not make the same mistake as Virginia Tech and lose their focus against an NC State team having a down year. Instead, the Terps closed their season with a convincing 20 point victory against the Wolfpack. The victory left UMD with a 10-6 record in the ACC, only a game out of first place. Unfortunately for them, the crowd at the top of the conference and various tie breakers left Maryland with the fifth seed in the conference tournament.

The Terps will play Miami, a team which beat them in College Park this January, beginning a stretch in which the Terps lost 5 out of 8 games. It's safe to say that the Hurricanes will be facing a different breed of Terrapin this Thursday. Maryland will enter the game as one of the nation's hottest teams. Should they beat Miami, they will face Boston College on Friday, a team that beat them in December, but is currently heading in the opposite direction: the Eagles have lost 4 out of their last 5.

GW Streaks Past Duquesne
GW has been nothing if not streaky this season - winning five in a row, losing four in a row, and then winning four coming into Saturday's game with Duquesne. The Dukes had shrugged off adversity after the shooting of five players before the season, and had instituted a new, all out Grinnell-style offense, resulting in seven games where they scored over 90 points.

Considering GW's athleticism, we were bracing for a 105-100 contest. However, the game was a bit slower and sloppy, with 36 turnovers between the teams. It was pretty close until GW went on one of its usual runs to pull away. While Robert Mitchell and Kieron Achara combined for 50 for the Dukes, GW shot better, especially from the arc. The Colonials held on with free throws and continued their streaky ways.

With the win, GW secured third place in the A-10, and on Thursday will face the winner of the Temple-St. Joes game.
-Andrew Wiseman

American Bounced by Holy Cross
Another local team’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday, as American lost in the last seconds to Holy Cross, 55-53. The fourth-seeded Eagles tied the game at 53 on a three-pointer by Andre Ingram, but the Crusaders’ Keith Simmons – the Patriot League player of the year – scored on a drive with 4.8 seconds left to provide the winning margin.

American led by as many as eight early in the second half on Holy Cross’ home floor, but steadily lost ground, trailing by nine with five minutes to play before scrambling back to tie it. Ingram’s game-high 20 points gave him 1,655 in his career, good for fifth on the AU all-time scoring list.
-Hayden Alfano