Boxscore / File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

RICHMOND, Va. -- Eric Maynor scored 30 points while Larry Sanders added 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the VCU men’s basketball team to a 78-67 victory over the University of Delaware Wednesday night at the Siegel Center.

Maynor, the Colonial Athletic Association’s leading scorer at 22.6 points per game, scored 22 points in the second half and keyed a pivotal 8-0 run late in the game as the Rams pulled away to improve to 19-8 overall and 12-4 in the league.

Delaware, which fell to 11-17 overall and 5-11 in the conference, dropped its seventh consecutive contest away from Newark and fell to 0-8 in CAA road games. Marc Egerson (at right) led the Blue Hens with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Jawan Carter added 15 points.

Brian Johnson reached double figures for the fifth straight game by pouring in 13 points, and the junior point guard had six assists and zero turnovers in 38 minutes of action. Alphonso Dawson was the fourth Blue Hen in double figures with 13 points and five boards.

VCU, which improved to 12-1 at home and moved into sole possession of first place in the league standings, also got 11 points from Kirill Pishchalnikov and nine points from Joey Rodriguez. Maynor reached the 30-point mark for the sixth time this season and dished out 10 assists to post his second double-double of the year, while Sanders recorded his seventh double-double of the season..

The Blue Hens took a 38-36 halftime lead after shooting 55.2 percent in the opening period, and after the Rams went ahead by three, consecutive three-pointers by Carter and Egerson put Delaware on top 59-56 with 9:23 remaining. However Maynor scored seven points during a key 8-0 VCU run that put the Rams up for good at 64-59 with 6:21 to play.

A three-pointer by Dawson cut the VCU advantage to just two points at 66-64 with 4:23 remaining, but Maynor hit a leaner in the paint and then drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Rams ahead 71-64 with 3:17 to play. Sanders followed with a turnaround jumper and Maynor added a free throw to make it a 10-point game and the Blue Hens, who made just two field goals in the final 9:23, would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.

“Late in the game we had a couple of key turnovers that really hurt us,” Delaware third-year head coach Monté Ross said. “You have to give credit to VCU; Eric Maynor showed why he’s the conference Player of the Year. This is a difficult place to win, and I’m proud of the guys for really battling tonight. I thought Brian Johnson was really good with six assists and no turnovers against their press.”

VCU, which improved to 7-0 all-time against Delaware in the Siegel Center, jumped out to an early 7-2 lead behind consecutive three-pointers by Maynor, but Delaware countered with 11 straight points to go up 13-7 at the 14:27 mark of the first half. After the Rams pulled within a point, Delaware used a 10-0 spurt to go ahead 26-15 on an Egerson three-pointer at the 10:09 mark.

An Egerson fast break layup again put the Blue Hens up 11 at 30-19 with 8:32 on the clock, and Delaware was still ahead 34-24 on a Dawson jumper with 4:53 remaining. VCU answered by scoring 12 of the next 14 points to tie the game before Egerson scored on a put back just before the buzzer to give Delaware the two-point halftime advantage.

The teams traded the lead early in the second half before an Egerson three-pointer gave the Blue Hens a 51-47 advantage with 14:18 left. The Rams used a 9-2 spurt to take a three-point lead before the consecutive triples by Carter and Egerson put Delaware back on top.

The Blue Hens, who posted an 81-79 victory over the Rams at the Bob Carpenter Center on January 3, shot just 29 percent in the second half while the Rams, who improved to 12-3 all-time against UD, shot 53.8 percent for the game.

Delaware steps out of conference on Saturday when the Blue Hens travel to Lewisburg, Pa. for a 2 p.m. game at Bucknell as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters.