Mason advances to CAA championship

UPDATE: from caacourtside.com: "Spoke to Coach Larranaga for our pregame interview, and he reports that Dre Smith’s nose hurts, but is not broken. Smith will start the game with a protective mask, but once he gets running around and sweating it will be a matter of comfort."

So here we are Monday night, ready to take on VCU for the CAA title. Yesterday's game was a little scary at times but give credit to Towson, as they played Mason to the wire and never backed down. The Patriots had been there before, finding themselves down in a tournament game and knowing they had to play smart in order to survive. I think most of us would agree there was the usual three-point launch attempts in this one that we didn't see against JMU. I felt like the Patriots could have stayed out of trouble if they kept feeding their post players more earlier in the game. Be that as it may, Mason still closed this game out with strong performances from Cam Long and Darryl Monroe. The Patriots needed some big shots from Long and he gave them just that, with a wild long range three-pointer late in the 2nd as the final dagger. Dre Smith looked more comfortable in this one and hit a three at the 1st half buzzer while also scoring in the paint through lay-ups. Once again free-throws were an issue, as the team went only 6-for-13 from there. Considering how often VCU fouls this could be a serious issue tonight. The Patriots bench was a non-factor and with playing their third game in three days, that's a little scary. Pearson is putting off surgery to this hand so he can play in this tournament, but him not being 100% really hurts Mason's depth. Tate and Cornelius will have to contribute more than they did yesterday and they need to stay out of foul trouble.



VCU has not looked dominant yet in this tournament and let ODU hang around yesterday, despite their best player being hobbled, by repeatedly sending them to the line. Mason will have to sink some free-throws as they will need the advantage and take points where they can get them. It's hard to bank on the fact that Long and Vaughan will be lighting it up from long range tonight. I would much rather see them drive to the lane and get Larry Sanders into foul trouble early. That would make things a lot easier for Mason's front court. But let's be honest the real story of this game is how Mason will try to defend the Eric Maynor show. JV was out when they faced this team earlier in the season and he will have to pressure Maynor for the full 40 min. Cam Long and JV will have to step up and again be strong leaders for Mason tonight.

Live blog and chat again tonight, starting at 6:30 pm. Game is on ESPN2

video from caacourtside.com