No Fly Zone

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...

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Previewing Dayton...

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...

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Vlad Moldoveanu is transferring...

Just saw this today from Jeff Goodman's blog over on foxsports.com:"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...

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Mason to play GW in 2009

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....

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Mason grinds out win over Tulane

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...

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Mason receives vote in AP Poll

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 f...

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Mason takes down Radford

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...

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Previewing Radford...

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,...

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Mason recruit written up on ESPN

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...

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Mason holds off Drexel

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...

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Previewing Drexel...

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 an 83-51 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...

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Post Game Media from Liberty game

Video highlights and pictures from libertyflames....

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About last night...

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...

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