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Rob Lowery of Dayton stole the show late in the 2nd half to prevent the Patriots from upsetting the Flyers on their home court. The same court not too long ago Mason started it's historic run in the 2006 tournament. The depth of Dayton's squad came on when they needed to and thwarted Dre Smith's big night. Dre finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and hit 4 three-pointers. Definitely the Dre Smith we had hoped to see this season. Cam Long was also stellar running the point and finished with 15 points but more importantly he looked very poised on the road in a hostile environment. The difference in the game to me was that fact that Dayton's big front court really prevented Mason from getting any help out of Monroe and Birdsong late in the game. Freshmen Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson were not factors and made a couple of rookie mistakes, especially Cornelius. We saw Chris Fleming get some minutes with Vlad being gone and let's hope those minutes decrease. If not for the great play by the guards Mason would not have been in this game late. It's frustrating to watch a team unfold late in the game after leading for almost the entire 2nd half but let's face it, this is the best we have seen Mason play on the road this season. Now I'm not one for "moral victories", a loss is a loss but at least this game makes me a little bit more confident about our upcoming CAA schedule. I know many of you we probably thinking a win at Dayton would almost guarantee an NCAA tournament berth coupled with a decent conference record but keep in mind there's a lot of season left to play and Mason is playing just as good if not better than the rest of the CAA right now.
So it's come to this: Mason's chance to add a marquee win to their resume before conference play kicks into full gear. The Flyers are without a doubt going to be the most talented and well-rounded squad the Patriots have faced to date. They are deep and much like the Patriots squad they aren't depending on one guy every night. Someone to keep an eye on is Chris Wright, who is a 6'8" forward and is wildly athletic, creating problems on both ends of the floor. To understand more of what I mean, watch this youtube: Dayton's bread and butter is their defense and rebounding, while they struggle with three-point shooting. In their win over Auburn they went 0-for-24 from behind the arch. Wow. Could this be an advantage for the Patriots? We have seen lesser talented squads creep back into games because of three-point shooting. The Flyers play an up tempo style at times and things could get ugly for the Patriots if they try to match that tempo running up and down the court. I don't think Mason can go toe-to-toe with Dayton if it's an up tempo game, the Flyers are much more athletic.
For further analysis of the Flyers, I had a little Q&A session with a Dayton blogger from The Blackburn Review.
1. Most of us have seen what Chris Wright can do, who else should Mason fans keep a close eye on from this deep Dayton squad?
"Honestly, I am not going to blow smoke up your ass (unless you pay me). The U of D is not sporting the most potent offensive arsenal in the country right now. Chris Johnson and Marcus Johnson are the two most likely candidates to take over if Wright is having an off night on the offensive end. Wright is not scoring in the fashion that most Flyer fans anticipated he would this season. Outside of dunks and getting to the stripe, Wright's scoring ability seems to be rather limited in this early stage of his career. He really needs to develop a more effective outside game to take his game to the next level. Dayton currently thrives on defense and rebounding. They currently are second in the nation in defensive field goal percentage, holding opponents to 33.5% shooting from the floor. The Flyers, although very athletic, are not a flashy group. They definetely bring a blue-collar whiskey-drinkin' common-law-wife-beatin' work ethic to each game. They are more likely to open up for Menudo than impress you with their perimeter shooting."
2. What kind of coach is Brian Gregory?
"He is warm and cuddly. Standing at just 4'9", Gregory will not physically intimidate anyone. However, he has a mean streak and is capable of just about anything. BG is a fierce competitor who has brought Dayton's recruiting success to a new level. An unsubstantiated report from last year stated that Gregory defecated down the chimney of an opposing coach who was allegedly employing shady recruiting tactics to steal local talent. This charge was never proven as the DNA results were inconclusive."
3. What would you say is the Flyers biggest strength this season?
"Again, their defense and rebounding. Dayton seems content to blindly throw the ball against the backboard, grab the rebound, miss an easy lay-up, get another offensive board and eventually place it within the inviting confines of the rim. This team thinks of offense as a necessary evil and believes that the three point line is made of the remains of serial killers. Dayton's previosly non-sensical substitution patterns are finally paying off this year, as Gregory can continually sub in fresh bodies to physically impose their will on defense. The ride back to Fairfax will smell of Ben-Gay and unrelenting fear."
4. In Dayton's win over Auburn earlier this season they went 0-for-24 from the three-point line, would it suffice to say their biggest weakness is outside shooting?
"That would be an understatement. To put that number in perspective, you could probably pull a half-drunk 60 year-old Filipino fisherman out of the crowd to shoot half-court shots at halftime Tuesday night, and I would almost guarantee that he would hit one within 24 tries. The sheer embarrassment of that performance, albeit a win, is unmatched. Even looking at it now, I can help but die a little inside. Flyers fans want to pretend that game never happened, but I say we should never forget the horrors of that brisk night in Chicago. Time heals all wounds, but until another school goes 0-25 from the arc, we will have to wear a scarlet T, for turrrrrrrible, on our letter jackets."
5. What would the Patriots have to do to win this game?
"Limit turnovers and hit their open looks. Dayton will do their part to score in low numbers, Mason must retaliate by having a decent night on offense. UD has a tendency to over-pursue on defense which results in open looks from the outside. If Mason can control the pace of the game and not turn the ball over in bunches, the Patriots have a good chance at coming out of UD Arena with a shiny W."
6. What's your prediction for this game?
"My prediction is a close victory, between 5-8 points, for the boys in red and blue. Dayton will pull away in the last ten minutes of the game, miss enough foul shots down the stretch to keep Mason within striking distance, and eventually will make a play or two to keep it out of reach for good. Dayton will outrebound Mason by at least 10 boards and force between 15-20 turnovers. A child will be conceived in one of the men's bathrooms after the game."
"Just got word from a source close to the situation that George Mason 6-foot-10 sophomore Vlad Moldoveanu is transferring.
Moldoveanu is averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season - identical numbers to what he put up as a freshman a year ago while playing about a dozen minutes per game."
Not real shocking considering how Vlad's playing time hasn't improved since he was a freshman and let's face it he doesn't play defense or rebound enough to be a true Larranaga guy. Maybe it would have been different if he started hitting three's like everyone (including me) kept saying he was capable of. I don't think he fits in Coach L's system and he probably feels he can make an impact somewhere else.
Finally, some local rivalry games. I have always thought it was ridiculous that there are never any good local games between all the great college teams in our area (Maryland, Georgetown, GW, even American). This is from the Washington Post:
"George Mason has a tentative agreement to play at George Washington next season and host the Colonials in 2010-11, Patriots Athletic Director Tom O'Connor said. The teams have met only 10 times, most recently in 1998."
This a great step in the right direction to hopefully getting more local rivalry games in the future. Gary Williams won't be bringing his Terps to the Patriot Center any time soon but hopefully we are moving closer to that day.
Ugly, boring, and somewhat frustrating but still a victory for the Patriots last night. Mason shot 29 percent in the second half of this game and made 1 of 11 three-pointers. The one positive stat in this game besides the final score was that Mason had 9 steals and only 10 turnovers. Forwards Darryl Monroe and Ryan Pearson (5 offensive rebounds) helped keep the Patriots ahead for most of the game. John Vaughan had another good night with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. But it was another night were we saw poor shot selection (and numerous air-balls) and some inexcusable turnovers that let a weaker team hang around against the Patriots. Some good free-throw shooting helped Mason seal the victory but the team still saw a 12-point lead vanish at home, very rare. Louis Birdsong had somewhat of an off night and looked like he had a slight ankle or knee problem. Reserves Isaiah Tate and Vlad Moldoveanu continue to not produce from the bench, while Chris Fleming did not dress for the game.
The AP poll was just released and apparently someone else besides us fans thinks the Patriots are playing some good basketball right now. Although it may seem shocking at first, keep in mind that it would not be a surprise to see the two teams we lost to (Hampton and Liberty) ending up in the NCAA tournament come March. Personally I do not think we have accomplished enough to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the teams even near the bottom of the Top 25, but hey bragging rights are fun.
Mason beat Radfornd Friday night to stay unbeaten at home and over .500 all-time. After looking rusty in the 1st half, the Patriots came alive late with the help of Cam Long (Cam Ward to ESPN apparently) who at one point scored 9 straight points to spur a Patriots run in the 2nd half. Long played the way I had hoped he would be playing all along this season. He is still not exactly a floor general but he's starting to learn how to set up his teammates better. Dre Smith looked as if he found his shooting touch, somewhat, as he and John Vaughan connected on a couple of three-pointers. Interesting about this win is Darryl Monroe finished with zero points and Andre Cornelius only 3. These guys have been key players in Mason's home games and they were not effective against less athletic players on Radford. But the good news despite that is the starting guards all played well and hit shots when the team needed them. Good to see big Vlad back after missing a few games due to injury.
Fresh off a break from action due to finals, the Patriots take the floor tomorrow night against Radford. Let's hope they did some fine-tuning over the break and start out strong against a delpleted Radford squad that has already seen three players leave the team this season. The Highlanders have been wildly inconsistent this season (sound familiar) including almost upseting UVA but then being blown out by William & Mary. Kenny Thomas leads the way for them and so far he has connected on 25 of 58 three-point attempts (.431). In three games this season he has hit four or more treys. Not really exciting news considering the Patriots have been yielding opponents to shoot over 32% from behind the arch so far. Along with Thomas, Radford boasts a 6-11 center, Artsiom Parakhouski from Belarus, who lacks overall basketball talent but has shown success rebounding in the paint averaging over 9 rebounds a contest. Mason's vastly more athletic front court should be able to counter and prevent him from giving the Highlanders second chance baskets. It could be a big day for Monroe, Birdsong, and Pearson collectively as Radford's guards will keep Mason's backcourt busy.
Johnnie Williams, probably the incoming freshman next season I am most excited about, gets a little press here from ESPN.com. They list him as a surprise player at Marshall County's Hoopfest event in Kentucky:
"Williams is a strong and physical post player who has the ability to step out and knock down jumpers to about 15 feet. He competes and plays with urgency at all times. He is a good athlete who finishes above the rim with authority. He runs the floor consistently, and in the half court, he is a low-post scoring threat. Williams can score with drops from either side of the lane and he does a great job working for post position and giving the post feeder a big target. On the left low box, Williams likes the quick turn shot. He has excellent hands and finishes drop-off passes created by guard penetration. Williams can finish through contact and he works to rebound on both ends of the floor. He made his presence felt the entire game. On defense, he is pretty good at anticipating post feeds and releasing contact to make a play on the ball. Williams must continue to develop his post package and his perimeter skills, but he has great upside and should be a contributor at George Mason right away."
Well it was not pretty but the Patriots escaped from the DAC with a victory. A victory that easily could have been a melt-down in the closing seconds as Drexel, down by three with three seconds remaining saw Scott Rogers drive to the basket (going for 2, not 3 mind you) and get intentionally fouled by Darryl Monroe. The result gave Rogers two free throws and then possession back to the Dragons. I don't know what was more of a dumb move, Rogers driving the lane as time was expiring when down by three or Monroe bailing him out for the dumb move by horse-collar tackling him. After the Patriots started off the second half on a 17-4 run you would have thought the Patriots offensive fire power was too much for Drexel, but they responded with their own run late in the game. The Dragons, who have had trouble putting points on the board this season, made the Patriots play their style of grind it out basketball. With no real star power on offense that was really the only way they were going to come out on top and coach Bruiser Flint knew that. The Patriots started out the second half flying up and down the court and scoring points off turnovers but that was quickly subsided by the Dragon's defense. Despite this, Mason still protected the ball well and had a balance attack as eight of nine players who entered the game scored. Usually that is the formula for success for Larranaga but poor rebounding really killed a lot of chances for Mason and gave Drexel a lot of second chance points late in the game. Forwards Darryl Monroe and Louis Birdsong were more involved in this one but I still feel like we could have saw more from them late in the game. John Vaughan and Dre Smith continue to start off games flat and it hurts the Patriots on the road. Dre is currently 7 for 41 from the three-point line, how long before Andre Cornelius is starting over him? Despite still making some rookie mistakes, Cornelius has still looked really good so far. Against the Dragons he was blowing past defenders all day long and really showcasing his speed. He's one of the quickest guard in the CAA and I believe it's only a matter of time before he starts to take over games.
The Patriots hit the road for their first CAA game this weekend at Drexel. The Dragon's are coming off a dreadful CAA campaign last season and return only two starters this season. It's difficult to assess them so far this year because they have only played three games, with their one loss being an83-51 drubbing from Georgetown. With Tramayne Hawthorne returning, the team looks to be more of a perimeter shooting squad, but through the first three games Hawthorne is only 6 for 29 from the three-point line. Their shooting from the field has not been much better (.305) and they been averaging under 60 points a contest thus far. They start two guards who are under 6-feet tall, could that be an advantage for the Patriots or a window for them to launch up more bricks early in the game? While the Dragon's front court presence basically disappeared with the graduation of Frank Elegar, they still have a size advantage there and have been rebounding well. With that in mind, Monroe and Birdsong have been the most consistent Patriots to date and Ryan Pearson seems to be coming into his own. Those three could very well be the difference in this game as John Vaughan and Dre Smith continue to struggle on the road. Drexel doesn't have any Seth Currys in their lineup but they are well coached and Mason will have to limit the turnovers. Giving the ball up like we saw at Liberty is basically the only way Mason could let this game slip away. An up-tempo game could favor the Patriots as they have much more scoring power then the Dragons.
The Patriots suffered their second loss of the season last night at Liberty and all I can say is Stephen Curry and his younger brother seem to have that same clutch ability late in games. Seth Curry not only hit a three-pointer late in the second half, from what seemed like mid-court, but he hit a jumper and two free-throws in the last 41 seconds of overtime to power the the Flames to victory. Did I mention he was a freshman? Liberty connected on 11 for 34 from three-point range while Mason started off the game going 0 for 9 from there. It seems to me that every Mason game starts off the same: a burage of three-point misses. Sure it's great when they actually connect on some of them, like at the Ohio game, but on the road every miss that early in the game seems to let the momentum swing to the home team. Liberty had no depth or authority at the forward position and Louis Birdsong started to exploit that after the Patriots were down early, but why wasn't Monroe more involved in the offense? Dre Smith was playing so poorly he was pulled for most of the first half and freshman Andre Cornelius seemed to commit a foul every minute. Ryan Pearson, who was named CAA rookie of the week again, was way too erratic down low and threw up some interesting shots. Meanwhile the only Mason guard that was having a decent night was Cam Long, who finished with a career-high 18 points, 9 rebounds, but only 3 assists. It was another game where Mason had the rebounding edge but failed to really establish an inside game. Monroe needs to be taking more than 7 shots a game. Period.
Side note: Apparently Vlad Moldoveanu didn't make the trip due to some injury, more details to follow.
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.
"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)."
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Final Four alum and poster boy Lamar Butler is back in the states after a brief stint overseas. Apparently Butler has been invited to a training camp for the NBA Developmental League (D-League) team, the Colorado 14ers. In case your wondering what a 14er is, check here, because I didn't believe it either. Now I know this move isn't for money because you basically make more working the night shift at McDonalds than you do as a D-League player, so Lamar must still think he has a shot at the NBA. Each D-League team has two NBA affiliates and the 14ers are with the Denver Nuggets and the New Jersey Nets. Fellow CAA alum Jose Juan Barea, now with the Dallas Mavericks, took the D-League root to the NBA successfully so seeing Butler make it to the big show might not be so far fetched. I had always thought of Lamar as a pure shooter with a lot of defensive intensity. He's undersized for a shooting guard in the NBA and doesn't quite have the skill set to be a point guard. It will be interesting to see if this develops into anything for him, I'll be watching Lamar.
The Patriots travel down south this Thursday to face Hampton, a team that has lost a lot of scoring power since the fight they put up last December. They do however return Rashad West who scored 22 in that game last season and was All-MEAC but did not play in the first game this year. West, along with junior guard Vincent Simpson will provide most of the team's scoring, while getting little help. Hampton does have some size on it's roster, with three players standing 6-10, but none of them have any experience. Mason's athletic forwards should not have much trouble in this match-up but will have to be careful of the Pirates shot-blockers. Perimeter defense might not be the Patriots point of emphasis in this game, as Hampton only made one three-pointer in their first game against Iona which they only managed 46 points. Look for Mason's young forwards, Pearson and Morrison, to get more playing time in this one as they did against Brown. Something to keep an eye is if the Patriots can keep up the impressive shooting from behind the arc we saw on Monday night.
It was a great night. Not just because Mason won big but because they have a new mascot. Who apparently doesn't have a name yet, and Mason is opening it up to suggestions. Really a work of art compared to his predecessor.
Now about the game. Mason took control early, creating steals and opportunities for their guards. Darryl Monroe was big in the low post but not needed much. John Vaughan (18pts) , Dre Smith, and even big Vlad shot the ball well from behind the arc. Even walk-on Jimmy Nolan nailed a three-pointer. But the most exciting thing to watch was freshman Mike Morrison (15 pts), who like Ryan Pearson on Saturday looked very comfortable for a freshmane forward. Morrison is long, very long; and can move well for his size. It was encouraging to see Vlad and Birdsong play well after a poor showing in Vermont. But really the difference in talent level from the new freshmen and the current role players on Mason is already starting to show. Mike Morrison's emphatic dunk on a pass from Andre Cornelius is a sign of things to come. It is really going to be exciting seeing this kind of young talent play against the CAA's best. I can't wait.
Big night for Mason basketball, first home game, CAA champions banner to be raised, and the unveiling of a new athletic mascot. All this after coming off an impressive down the wire road victory to start off the new season. Fans should be glowing with excitement to see such a road victory when thinking back to how terrible some away games have been the last two seasons. Fans should also be gitty over the play so far from freshman Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson, who were inserted into the lineup early on Saturday and didn't look like they were playing their first Division I game. Darryl Monroe's play was probably the most exciting thing for Mason fans to see as he gives reason to think the front court won't be a glaring weakness this year.
Now on to Brown. This Ivy league team is not something to overlook, really no team can be who runs the Princeton offense and plays a lot of man-to-man defense. Brown was picked to finish fifth in the Ivy and on paper they don't look like much, especially in their front court. But for whatever it's worth the Bears lost to Rhode Island by 2 on Friday, the same Rhode Island team that nearly upset Duke last night. The Bears have a decent amount of size on their roster and they can roll out a starting five with players from 6-5 to 6-9. Look for Brown to stay mostly on the perimeter because of their lack of post players and try to take advantage like Randolph-Macon did. Darryl Monroe should have another big night, which will open things up for Mason's guards to hopefully have a better night from behind the three-point line.
Mason will win this game because:
...Darryl Monroe and Ryan Pearson should have their way down in the posts, which will take the pressure off guards John Vaughan and Dre Smith. Depth is another issue that will help the Patriots in this game, especially with the strong play from the freshmen.
Brown can upset Mason if:
...they play a very disciplined, up-tempo, Princeton style of offense and create confusion for the younger inexperienced Mason players. If ran the right way, the Princeton style of offense can help a team like Brown hide their front court weakness and make a team play out of their realm.
5:36 AM
seo all
Rob Lowery of Dayton stole the show late in the 2nd half to prevent the Patriots from upsetting the Flyers on their home court. The same court not too long ago Mason started it's historic run in the 2006 tournament. The depth of Dayton's squad came on when they needed to and thwarted Dre Smith's big night. Dre finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and hit 4 three-pointers. Definitely the Dre Smith we had hoped to see this season. Cam Long was also stellar running the point and finished with 15 points but more importantly he looked very poised on the road in a hostile environment. The difference in the game to me was that fact that Dayton's big front court really prevented Mason from getting any help out of Monroe and Birdsong late in the game. Freshmen Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson were not factors and made a couple of rookie mistakes, especially Cornelius. We saw Chris Fleming get some minutes with Vlad being gone and let's hope those minutes decrease. If not for the great play by the guards Mason would not have been in this game late. It's frustrating to watch a team unfold late in the game after leading for almost the entire 2nd half but let's face it, this is the best we have seen Mason play on the road this season. Now I'm not one for "moral victories", a loss is a loss but at least this game makes me a little bit more confident about our upcoming CAA schedule. I know many of you we probably thinking a win at Dayton would almost guarantee an NCAA tournament berth coupled with a decent conference record but keep in mind there's a lot of season left to play and Mason is playing just as good if not better than the rest of the CAA right now.
