Into the Fire

After more than a week between games the Patriots looked sluggish at times on Sunday night but in the end pulled off a victory against he Liberty Flames. Mason used a balance attack having all starters finish in double figures with Dre Smith knocking down 5 three-pointers. Folarin Campbell had another strong game at the point in the Jordan Carter's absence, dishing out 8 assists. All Mason's starters played at least 34 minutes, which begs the question of how long can this go on if Carter's injury prolongs. Keep in mind that the Patriots dressed only 9 players for this game, 3 of which were freshmen. Depth seemed like a huge asset but lately it has been an issue. Mason almost blew a large second half lead and allowed Liberty some easy shots as it was not the best defensive performance we have seen thus far. This game showed us again how important John Vaughan is the Patriots success as his shooting in the second half helped Mason pull away. Besides the obvious team MVP in Will Thomas, Vaughan is proving to be just as valuable with his consistent shooting. We have seen an up and down season from Campbell and Smith at the guard position but we have rarely seen Vaughan struggle for an entire 40 minutes in any game.

Mason is now 6-0 at home and today they face their first conference road game against Georgia State. For some reason this game starts at 3 p.m. but you can listen to it live here.