Patriots pick up first road victory

Nothing like playing Florida International to get Dre Smith and the Patriot offense going. Last season Dre Smith had his first big game with Patriots in Fairfax against FIU and this year the location was different but the result was the same. Smith led the Patriots to a 86-68 road victory by scoring 21 including 5 three-pointers. If only we could play FIU more often to keep Dre's shooting touch up to par. Folarin Campbell showed success at the point in the absence of Jordan Carter who missed the game with an ankle injury. Louis Birdsong had a strong performance grabbing 9 rebounds while Thomas only managed 2 despite his 20 points. All five Mason starters finished in double figures so things seem to be back on track for the moment on offense. Campbell did a fairly good job protecting the ball but will he stay the point even after Carter returns? Cam Long was the only bench player to score in a game where the Patriots used only 8 players for the first time this season (I'm not counting Tate's few seconds of action). I don't really have much else to say about this game, it was a road victory that should have came easy to us and I am glad the boys are starting to gel.


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On another note freshman Jay Threatt has decided to transfer and is no longer a member of the team. I think I can speak for most Mason fans when I say good riddance. After a summer that saw Threatt in legal trouble most of us were uneasy about the character of a guy like him coming to the squad. Not to mention I was never thrilled of the idea of using our last scholarship on an under 6-foot point guard to join a team full of guards. The good news is that we now have another scholarship spot open for next season, the bad news is we have missed out on some guys who have already signed. Still, this is a chance for Coach L to bring in other forward (hopefully with some size). Here is list from scout.com that shows all the 2008 recruits Mason has been in contact with, including the ones they have already signed.