Richmond Revenge

They may have been more Old Dominion fans chanting against the Patriots but it sure didn't seem to bother them much. The Patriots are one win away from getting back to the big NCAA dance. Since March 2nd we have seen a different George Mason squad; one that has been on fire and playing with confidence. Mason took a strong hold over the Monarchs and never let go on their way to a 79-63 victory. The score is almost misleading in the sense that Mason was up by at least twenty points for a large part of the game. Dre Smith again was outstanding scoring 14 of his 19 points in the first half fueling Mason's early rally that lasted into the 2nd half. Folarin Campbell added 18 and really took control of the game late, at one point he made 7 shots in a row. Will Thomas scored his 1,000th point as a Patriot and wasn't needed much as the Patriots guards stole the show. It would seem that Coach L has given the team the green light to just shoot the ball and it has been working out great. There doesn't seem to be any hesitation amongst the players; something that we have seen earlier in the season. Keep in mind that ODU came into this game riding a 12-game winning streak, yet Mason seemed like the heavy favorite right from the tip-off. The Patriots defense was really the difference as they forced the Monarchs to make some poor shot selections and only shot 38%.

The Patriots face VCU in the finals, a re-match of the 2004 finals which I attended as a sophomore and almost lost it when Jai Lewis missed that last second shot that would have won it. Of course the Rams have their annual home court advantage as they play their home games a couple blocks away from the Richmond Coliseum. Good for the Mason, they seem to have this "underdog" role working for them a second year in a row. Revenge is a dish best served cold.