Mason takes down Ohio

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.

Post-game interviews from CAAZone.com: