Mason takes down Ohio

The Patriots never trailed and Cam Long and Dre Smith each finished with 15 points yesterday in Fairfax. After leading but as much as 19 Mason did see their lead shrink somewhat but ended the game hitting 9 of their last 10 free throws to seal the deal. The Patriot's defense once again stole the show as points off turnovers helped set the tone and maintain a lead. Freshman Ryan Pearson and Andre Cornelius each logged 24 minutes in this game scoring 13 and 12 respectively. Starter Louis Birdsong saw the least amount of action of the season and finished with 1 point after fouling out; while Vlad Moldoveanu and Isaiah Tate did not enter the game. I am not sure why Coach Larranaga played such few guys, especially when there were some streaks of poor shooting. Perhaps they are not currently getting it done on the defensive end, something Pearson and Cornelius have been doing well so far. Darryl Monroe nearly missed another double-double as he finished with 11 points and 9 boards. Monroe wasn't needed much in the 1st half but I don't understand why they weren't going to him more once the Bobcats started to march back. The Patriots return to action Monday at Liberty, and it looks like the December 30th match-up against Dayton will be a real test before conference play.

Post-game interviews from CAAZone.com:

Read more »

ESPN tabs Mason recruiting class tops among Non-BCS schools

Some reading for you after a long day of Black Friday shopping.

George Mason, Rice lead non-BCS schools

"1. George Mason Patriots
Coach Jim Larranaga most certainly knows talent and is one of the best teachers in the business. This fall, Larranaga and his staff signed five excellent recruits who appear to have the talent to match that of the Patriots' 2005-06 dream team, which knocked off North Carolina and No. 1-rated Connecticut to advance to the 2006 NCAA Final Four. The chances that any team would repeat such a miraculous season are unlikely. But George Mason again should be one of the nation's elite mid-major programs and a dangerous team for high-majors to play.

Prominent among the newcomers is powerful athlete C/F Johnnie Williams (Eads, Tenn./Briarcrest Christian), a player who has the potential and intensity to become a future Will Thomas-type performer for Larranaga. Also signing were rugged 6-foot-7 PF Paris Bennett (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick), textbook shooter and postgraduate wing Luke Hancock (Chatham, Va./Hargrave Military Academy), SG Rashad Whack (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) and highly regarded Texas floor leader Vertrail Vaughns (Mesquite, Texas)."

Read more »

Second half surge leads Patriots to victory

The night did not start off as planned in this game as the Patriots came out flat. Shot selection was poor and Mason was just plain getting out hustled by Mount St. Mary's. Then Larranaga put in his star freshmen, Cornelius and Pearson, and the tide began to turn. The freshmen duo (still working on a nickname) provided a spark for the Patriots and instantly started hitting shots and making plays on both ends. Darryl Monroe on the other hand proved in this game that he doesn't need to be the leading scorer to be a huge factor for the Patriots. Monroe's low post passing was on point again last night setting up his teammates and doing all the little things necessary to get them back on track in the 2nd half. The low post scoring was greatly picked up in the 2nd half by Birdsong and Pearson who took advantage of the Mountaineers in the front court. Monroe, Birdsong, and Pearson had a combined 34 points and 21 rebounds, most of which coming in the 2nd half. John Vaughan scored 18 of his 22 in the 2nd half as well to lead the Patriots as their defense created much easier shots down the stretch. Through the first minute of the 2nd half Mount St. Mary's Jeremy Goode already had 20 points but then Mason only allowed him to score two more points before the final buzzer. This was another victory for the Patriots with a strong defensive effort complemented by support from their younger bench players. Imagine what this team would be like if Dre Smith was hitting more shots?

Pictures and post game interviews provided by CAAZone.com:

Read more »

Previewing Mount St. Mary's...

Mason faces their toughest out of conference opponent tomorrow night in Fairfax as they take on Mount St. Mary's. The Mountaineers return 4 starters from last year's NEC conference champions and NCAA tournament participant. They gave Virginia Tech a battle recently on the road and forced to Hokies to commit 20 turnovers. That was a week ago, so they have had a lot of down time, will that hurt them in this game? Mason on the other had has played twice since November 17th. The Mountaineers have a mix of seniors and juniors in their starting lineup but other than that they are a very young team depth wise. Guards Jeremy Goode and Jean Cajou (Fairfax, VA native) lead the way for Mount St. Mary's and have been shooting the ball well so far this season. Mason will have a significant size advantage as the Mountaineers don't have a player taller than 6'7", the true advantage for Mason will be between the guards. Hopefully Cam Long and John Vaughan can use their size advantage to create more opportunities for the Patriots. Darryl Monroe and Louis Birdsong will have to be a big part of the Patriots offense tomorrow night as the guards should have their hands full. Monroe (11.8 ppg 10.8 rpg) and Birdsong (10.5 ppg) have been the most consistent Patriots so far this season. Something else to watch for is to see if freshman Andre Cornelius has another strong showing from behind the arc. Cornelius has a chance to really give the Mountaineers trouble and can stretch the court while making plays on both ends. The Mountaineers play excellent defense and dating back to last season have held 11 of their last 13 opponents to under 70 points and held Virginia Tech to 33% shooting from the field.

Read more »

Cornelius leads Patriots over Pirates

Mason earned it's second road win last night, which compared to last season at this time, is impressive enough on it's own. But factor in that freshman guard Andre Cornelius put on a show and Mason fans should be a little less worried about the upcoming season. Cornelius drained five three-pointers while he and Birdsong finished with 19. Birdsong has been leading the way in scoring two straight games, something we did not see last season. It was great to see Mason get this victory without Monroe having a great night. Although the big man did finish with 9 points and 9 rebounds but was less involved down the stretch. Mason's guards needed to show up and make shots after the Hampton game diaster. Not only did they shoot the ball much better but they protected it as well, only surrending 8 turnovers. Defensively it was not their best of the season as they let the Pirates shoot over 45% from the field and hit 10 three-pointers. Sam Hinnant (27 pts) was large part of that as the Patriots struggled guarding him all night, constantly switching up who was defending him. The Patriots relied a little too much on their three-point shooting in this one but proved that when they are on they can be very dangerous from long range. John Vaughan and Dre Smith are not really leading this team as they should. Meaning, when the Patriots needed a score they didn't get it from either of those two. Cornelius and Birdsong were a lot more clutch in this game and I don't know if that's a good thing or not. When have the Patriots ever relied on younger talent over their seniors? Dre improved from the three-point line which is great, let's hope this continues. All in all another impressive road victory for this young Patriot squad.

Read more »

Previewing East Carolina...

The Patriots don't have time to sulk after their loss to Hampton because they hit the road again Saturday to play another Pirate team. East Carolina returns only one starter this season but has had no trouble scoring points in their first three games averaging over 83 a contest. This doesn't bode well for Mason who last night had trouble reaching 20 in the first half. But the Pirates are a young team like Mason, having 9 out of their 11 players in their first or second year. The team's only returning starter, Sam Hinnant, has been leading the squad so far averaging 17 ppg. Backcourt mate James Legan has been scoring 17.7 a night, while sophomore point guard Brock Young has been averaging over 7 assists. In the front court Chad Wynn (6'10" 240) will give Darryl Monroe his first challenge of the season. Wynn is a bruiser but not a huge rebounding threat. Freshman Darrius Morrow is another big fella (6-8, 250) who could make things difficult for the young Mason forwards. Mason boasts a much more athletic front court which they will need to use to their advantage if we see another poor shooting night from the guards.

Mason can win this game if:

...they do the exact opposite of what they did offensively last night! Meaning, they have to shoot the ball well and the guards have to be more involved from the start of the game. Darryl Monroe needs to take more than 5 shots in this game, he can be a huge factor with East Carolina's lack of front court depth. Defense has not been an issue yet this season and with Coach L it usually never is. The Patriots need to drown down East Carolina's offense and make them play their style of basketball.

Mason will lose this game if:

...they get themselves into a run and gun type of game. After such a poor shooting display, the last thing the Patriots need to do is get into an up-tempo, high scoring game. I don't think Mason can go toe-to-toe offensively with a team that has been scoring this much. If the Patriots have another sloppy night full of turnovers and fouls they will all but hand this game over to ECU and this time they will lose by more than 6.

Read more »

About last night...

Just how poorly did the Patriots play last night?

• They did not score a FG for nearly 11 minutes to start the game
• 23 turnovers to 4 assists (wow)
• 33% FG
• 2-17 from the 3-pt line
• they only got to the free throw line for 7 attempts
  
• Andre Cornelius (22 min) and Ryan Pearson (10 min) had a combined 2 points
• Even Gomason.com can't believe it: "To say that Mason's offense started off slowly would be like saying clowns wear a little makeup."
  

Mason was able to spoil a great defensive effort by not being able to hit the broad side of a barn last night. The Patriots did not allow a Pirate player to reach double digits and held the team to under 40% shooting from the field. They did not give up three-pointers and out rebounded Hampton, but you know the night isn't going well when Louis Birdsong is your leading scorer. Monroe had a decent night in the paint with 11 points and 11 rebounds, imagine what he would have done had any of the guards made a shot! In a poor shooting night you would think guys would start driving to the lane and getting fouls hoping to at least get points from the free-throw line, but that didn't happen. What's interesting about this is that entering this season I would have expected Mason's forwards to struggle and the guards to be carrying the team but lately it's seems the opposite is happening. Last night was a game were the Patriots needed guys like Dre Smith and John Vaughan to hit shots from the outside. The freshmen are going to struggle in road games, we saw this last year with Cam Long and Vlad. As good as Pearson and Cornelius might end up being this year, they aren't going to carry the team when they are down in road games like this.

Read more »