Too close for comfort, Patriots survive JMU

If I told you the statistics before the outcome of this game, you would have never believed the Patriots survived this win at home. In the 2nd half James Madison shot 69.6% from the field while Mason only collected five rebounds after halftime. The Patriots lately, numbers aside, have just found a way to get themselves into winning situations late in the game. The Dukes did turnover the ball 20 times and Mason scored off them often. Cam Long was the hero again in this one as he scored 23 points including the team's last 11 to close out the game. Long's big day was needed as starters Andre Cornelius, Ryan Pearson, and Mike Morrison struggled from the field. In their absence we saw Louis Birdsong and Johnny Williams pick up the slack, combining for 17 points and 3 blocked shots.

Although Mason got a little careless at the end of this one it's tough to be disappointed with how they manage to keep coming out of these games with a victory. How many times are gonna let a team shot nearly 70% in a half and come out of it with a victory? This team has found their identity and some might think that identity is relying a bit too much on Cam Long but that's just fine with me. Long has grown into the role of shooting guard/wing and as a result is scoring 20 or more points a game in the team's past five. Some of the younger guys on this team are often going to have off nights, even KRAM, but if Long, Tate, and Birdsong keep having consistent games like this, it's going to be an interesting next couple of weeks.

Roster update from WaPo:

"Freshman guard Rashad Whack (2.2-point average) slipped in the shower and dislocated his left shoulder Friday. He was scheduled to be evaluated this weekend. . . . Freshman forward Paris Bennett (three games) underwent wrist surgery and will miss the rest of the season."

NCAA Basketball Stats