HIGH-OCTANE UNC WILMINGTON STUNS VCU, 81-72
2-4-09
Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Chad Tomko scored 19 points and UNC Wilmington never took its foot off the gas as it upended Virginia Commonwealth University, 81-72, Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum.

VCU fell to 16-7 overall and 8-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association with the loss. UNCW improved to 6-18 on the year, including 3-9 in league play. The Seahawks also snapped a five-game losing streak to the Rams.

Tomko, who also had six assists, scored 12 of his points in the first half as UNC Wilmington jumped out to a 37-32 lead. VCU threatened on several occasions, but never led in the game.

“I thought it was a great effort by Wilmington tonight,” Commented VCU Head Coach Anthony Grant. “They played with more heart, more effort, more passion, they had more will to win…they deserved to win.”

Senior Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C.) led all scorers with 21 points and five steals, but suffered through one of the worst shooting nights of his brilliant VCU career. Maynor was just 7-of-23 from the field and 0-of-11 from 3-point range. He did, however, move past Charles Wilkins and into second place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,724 points. He trails Kendrick Warren by 134 points.

Sophomore Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla.) scored 15 points and collected nine rebounds, while freshman Bradford Burgess (Midlothian, Va.) added 11 points for the Rams.

In addition to Tomko, the Seahawks got 17 points and eight rebounds from Kevon Moore, who staved off a number of VCU rallies with left-handed lay-ups in traffic. Johnny Wolf chipped in 14 points.

The Black and Gold misfired on 20 of 23 3-point attempts and were outrebounded by UNCW, 35-34. The Seahawks also shot .49 percent (29-of-59) from the field.

The Rams will regroup and return to Richmond, where they will host William & Mary in a Homecoming game on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.