Mason falls to JMU for first time in 5 years

Although it's not shocking, the Patriots fell to the Dukes this afternoon and final score doesn't show how badly they played. Not only did Mason lose to Madison for the first time in 10 meetings but they did so with them not having their leading scorer in the line-up. Mason did not come out as flat as they usually do on the road but I feel like they were settling for too many three-point attempts in the first half. They tried to get Monroe and Birdsong started but instead they just kept the ball out of Cam Long hands. Long was almost invisible in the first half. Huh? Did I not say yesterday that JMU could give us serious trouble if Kyle Swanston was hitting threes all afternoon? Well he did and granted he played an exceptional game Mason should have known he would be taking more looks, especially without Juwann James playing. They sent Madison (the best free-throw shooting team in the CAA) to line countless times at the end of the second half while struggling to keep a small lead. Discipline. Where was it? Another thing missing was any kind of consistent outside shooting. Dre Smith and Cam Long struggled to find the range and it really kept Mason taking control. Ryan Pearson got going in the second and seemed to draw contact almost every time. A lot of Madison players were in foul trouble, but it means nothing when you can't hit late game free-throws. Probably the most disappointing thing in this game for the Patriots was the fact that Dazz Thornton was a factor late in the game. I'm talking about a 275+ pound guy who struggles to play 15 minutes even with Juwann James sharing the front court. You have three forwards at your deposal who are all vastly more athletic and let this guy who was basically their only inside player available have a career day? Usually when a team gets as many points off turnovers in a game as Mason did, it's a lopsided ordeal. Not the case and the Patriots themselves commited only 8 turnovers. What's most distouraging about Mason's recent road loses have been that they don't seem to make any significant changes at half-time. Swanston was killing it, yet it didn't seem like they were changing their defensive schemes much to thwart him. It's head scratching.

Why do you think Mason has so much trouble on the road?