GAME NOTES: The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens try to follow up their exciting last-second win on Wednesday night as they host the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in Colonial Athletic Association action this afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Hens went into their meeting with UNC-Wilmington three nights ago on a three-game slide and losers of five of six games overall, but thanks to a Herb Courtney three-pointer with 1.2 seconds to play the squad slipped by with a 68-67 win to move to 7-5 in league play. As for the Rams, the top team in the CAA standings entering the weekend at 10-2, they too had a close call on Wednesday night as they took part in their first overtime game of the season. The additional five minutes of action provided VCU with a 65-60 win over Georgia State on the road, marking the team's second straight victory and the ninth in 10 tries. VCU blew away the Blue Hens in the first meeting this season, 60-39, back on January 16th, which means the Rams now hold a 10-2 advantage over Delaware in the all-time series.

Leading by as many as seven points with just over four minutes to play in regulation, the Panthers allowed VCU to battle back and knot the score at 58-58 on a layup by Eric Maynor with 17 seconds to play, then proceeded to score just two points in the extra period on Wednesday night. Maynor, who has been named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, finished with a team-best 16 points, while Larry Sanders filled out his stat line with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots as the team survived 35.1 percent shooting from the field and 3- of-22 beyond the arc. Maynor leads the team in scoring with his 17.5 ppg, already having made more free throws than any one of his teammates has even attempted through 22 games. Just as impressive is the fact that Maynor has handed out 110 assists and turned the ball over just 62 times. Jamal Shuler chips in with 15.4 ppg, which means he and Maynor account for nearly half the unit's 68 ppg this season. From a defensive standpoint, there are few teams in the nation who are as suffocating as the Rams, holding foes to just 37.9 percent shooting from the field and 26.9 percent beyond the arc, resulting in a mere 58.5 ppg.

Courtney may have been the last-second hero for the Blue Hens on Wednesday, but it was a team effort that got Delaware back in contention in the final minutes. Courtney tallied 13 points, one of four to hit for double figures, while Brian Johnson and Edwin Santiago tallied 15 points apiece. Marc Egerson teamed his 11 points, five assists and four steals with a career-best 13 rebounds to help make up for the shortfall by Alphonso Dawson who dropped in just eight points on 3-of-12 from the field. Egerson and Courtney lead the team in scoring with 13.5 ppg apiece, the former clearing 6.4 rpg and the latter another 5.7 rpg. As well as he's played at times this season, Egerson's efforts have been tempered with a mere 36.4 percent shooting from the field and an average of almost four turnovers per game. Delaware is now producing only 62.3 ppg, basically because the squad can't seem to get a handle from the field at 39.4 percent. It also doesn't help that the Hens are being taken advantage of on the glass by nearly nine rebounds per game.

One of the top defensive teams in the country, VCU has already demonstrated how tough it can be on the Blue Hens, so doing it again this weekend on the road is not much of a stretch for the Rams.