Dec. 2, 2007

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Virginia Commonwealth's Jamal Shuler scored 30 points as the Rams downed Maryland, 85-76, Sunday night in the BB&T Classic.

Eric Maynor had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (4-3), who took the lead for good midway through the second half.

Shuler, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, went 10-for-19 from the floor, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. His previous career best was 25.

Greivis Vasquez scored 19 and Bambale Osby had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Maryland (5-3). The Terrapins outrebounded the Rams 40-30 and outscored them 30-24 at the foul line, but shot only 37 percent and committed 19 turnovers.

Maynor hit a 3-pointer to give VCU a 69-61 lead with 3:56 remaining. Maryland got within five points on four occasions, but the Rams scored their final 14 points at the free throw line.

The Terrapins led 39-38 before Maynor scored seven points around a basket by Vasquez to put the Rams up 45-41. After an exchange of field goals, Eric Hayes hit a 3-pointer and Landon Milbourne made two foul shots to spark a 9-2 run that gave the Terrapins a 52-49 lead.

But VCU came back with seven straight points, including five by reserve Joey Rodriguez, and a 3-pointer by Shuler gave him a new career high and put the Rams ahead 60-54 with 8:13 to go.

Shuler scored 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting, and VCU overcame a 17-9 rebounding deficit to reach halftime tied at 34.

Coming off a 21-turnover performance in a loss to Hampton, the Rams gave away the ball seven times in the opening 12 minutes. But they forced 10 turnovers over that span, and used a dunk by Kirill Pishchalnikov to take a 19-15 lead.

Freshman Cliff Tucker scored five points in a 9-3 spurt that put Maryland back on top, but the Terrapins made too many ball-handling mistakes to extend the margin.

The first half featured 11 ties and seven lead changes.