Radford's frontcourt dominates Mason to end year on low point

Despite the fact that Radford probably has the best frontcourt Mason will see this season, this road loss was still a pathetic effort. The final score was 80-53 and Mason shot 27% from the field while allowing RU to shot over 52%, yikes. The Patriots were manhandled in the paint, and that's putting it nicely. The scouting report the team was emphasizing all week had to focus on the Highlanders two power inside big men, Art Parakhouski and Joey Lynch-Flohr. Parakhouski, who had scouts from the Detroit Pistons watching from the stands last night, finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. 20 of these points came in the second half, and he didn't have much trouble getting to the rim. Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison were no match for Radford's size and experience in the frontcourt, they got frustrated early and Morrison ended up in foul trouble early. Cam Long was no where to be found, scoring only 2 points and was 1-for-12 from the floor. Mason won't win many road games this year with Cam shooting like that.

According to Statsheet.com the game was "statistically over" with 5:49 to go in the second half but anyone watching last night knew the Patriots were done right as the second half began and Art Parakhouski quickly racked up a few baskets while Mike Morrison finished put backs and picked up another foul. The Patriots missed so many easy lay-ups and other opportunities, Luke Hancock uncharacteristically hit rim on a dunk that might have sparked some life for the team early on. It was just that kind of game for Mason. Despite going 17-63 from the field, they went 16-19 from the free-throw line but on the flip side RU got 28 attempts from the free-throw line went 84% from there. It's no surprise the Patriots were out-rebounded 47-29, but I did notice that Johnny Williams seems to be better on the boards than Mike Morrison if given additional minutes. Ryan Pearson, who usually is the Patriots best offesnive rebounder was boxed out all night, showing how much this team didn't match-up well with RU.

What is most discouraging about this loss is the fact that Radford's offense was very one dimensional and they had no depth. You knew that they were going to do and you knew where their points were going to come from, their guards were a total none factor. If they had some decent three-point shooters the margin of this loss could have been much worse believe it or not. They had open look three-pointers and went 0-for-9 from there. Their bench scored a whopping 4 points and to begin the second half you would have thought maybe the Patriots could wear them down, not the case. The Patriots have 4 more games in the next 10 days including ODU this Saturday, so hold on tight!

Below is a chart from StatSheet.com and it highlights the "Four Factors to Winning at Basketball". If you have never heard of this statistical breakdown before read more about what they mean here

NCAA Basketball Stats