Smith Shines In Blow Out

What a relief it was to witness the Patriots finally beat down on someone even if it was the Florida International Golden Panthers. Remember them; the school whose football team got in a melee with Miami earlier in the year resulting in about 30 players being suspended. No brawl in this game but Mason sure had their way with them. I still don't understand how Will Thomas didn't have 30 points in this game considering the caliber of players guarding him, but I won't complain since we won. 10 Patriots scored in this game and Dre Smith was the only one in double digits scoring 20. I was waiting for when this kid was finally gonna get some more playing time. I hope this is a sign of things to come. Smith has great shooting touch and created a lot of shots for himself, something I have not...

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Patriots come up short

The scoreboard might have said it was a two point victory for the Creighton Blue Jays but it really wasn't that close as it would seem. The Patriots forced three quick turnovers in the final two minutes to narrow the gap but came up short in the closing seconds. The Patriots were 6-22 from the 3-point line, ok I can deal with that. They also attempted 7 foul shots. I can't understand this. Folarin Campbell drove the lane twice and was fouled twice; so why do you stop doing it? And why did the Patriots keep forcing up 3-pointers? I really like our mid-range shooting against other teams but I rarely see it. The game was frustrating to watch mostly because Creighton's best player, Nate Funk, was kept in the check and the blue jays still...

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Shockers Get Revenge

The Wichita State Shockers came to Fairfax on Saturday in front of a sell out crowd and national TV cameras. Something the majority of their players are used to from last season. The Shockers looked like a team determined to put the Patriots away right from the tip off and they followed through. It also didn't hurt that Sean Ogirri (pictured above) got hot in the 2nd half where he scored all of his 19 points including clutch three pointers late in the game. Theres not much you can do when a guy gets hot at the right time. Shockers played great defense and forced the Patriots to take a lot of shots they weren't comfortable with. Although the Patriots were leading at the half, they were not playing their game. They were not going down low...

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Mid-Major Showdown in Fairfax

Do I smell a rivalry brewing here? You bet. The George Mason Patriots have got to love the Wichita State Shockers though. Not only did they beat the Shockers on the road, giving them a solid out of conference win on their resume, but then beat them in the third round of the NCAA tournament to advance to UConn in the Elite Eight. Oh how sweet it was. Wichita State would like nothing more than to come into the Patriot Center, watch our fans cheer at the revealing of the Final Four banner, then beat us and move up in the poll rankings. Sweet revenge right? I don't think so. The Patriots are going to beat the Shockers this Saturday and heres why:1. Will Thomas. Thomas was a monster down in the low post last season and had a coming out party in...

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Patriots get a scare in Cleveland

The Patriots opened the season with a come from behind victory against the Cleveland State Vikings. It hurts me to say that. Cleveland State is the worse team in the Horizon League. Why did the Patriots have trouble against these guys? Easy; Patriots had bull eyes on their backs and the didn't really think it was necessary to defend the three point shot until the second half. From the start of the game the Vikings came out firing with high energy and successfully converting Mason turnovers to points. The Patriots come out flat; a Final Four hang over perhaps; and turned the ball over five times in the games first three minutes. Folarin Campbell turned the ball over eight times in the game, and looked out of place during certain moments. The first half was dreadful at certain points and the...

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Buzz in Fairfax Continues.....

After the annual beat down of a local DII or DIII team in the Patriots pre-season exhibition game, it is was evident how the buzz from last March is still flowing through Fairfax. More people attended that exhibition game then half of the regular season games last year at the Patriot Center. For the first time in my four years at Mason the bookstore is actually carrying worthwhile basketball apparell, including jerseys, commemorative basketballs, banners, and even a gameday shirt for the Wichita St. vs. GMU home opener. Simply amazing. I always thought that a way to build a stronger fan base at Mason was to promote from the selling of Mason athletic apparell. But thats for another post. The school has also made a huge marketing effort to sell more tickets for this year including buying ad...

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