George Mason's big second half overwhelms Drexel 71-47

It was an ugly game at certain points of the night with 51 fouls being called and three Drexel players fouling out but George Mason just overpowered the struggling Dragons. With all the fouls being called the Patriots attempted more free-throws (21) than field goals (20) in the 2nd half.  Luke Hancock led all scorers with 16 but it was Mason's defense holding Drexel to a season low 47 points that was the real story. In the 2nd half the Dragons went 5-for-27 from the field after halftime and came out so flat on offense it was practically game over with 10 minutes remaining. On offense the Patriots excelled in transition and the Dragons had no answer for that as they were unable to slow down the game. Drexel by the way hasn't topped 50 points at the Patriot Center in four years which must have Bruiser Flint thrilled.  Mason pounced on the opportunity given with all the Drexel players in foul trouble and had another solid game from the free-throw line.  They made the effort on the boards all game long which has to have Larranaga pleased. The team also did a nice job keeping Samme Givens off his game and not letting him dominant on the boards.  Credit Mike Morrison for staying out of foul trouble in this whistle happy game and being a force in the middle with 7 rebounds.

After the victory the Patriots are now in a three-way tie for third place one game behind VCU and Hofstra in the CAA standings. On Saturday they go back on the road to face JMU, who is 9-0 at home this season but lost last night to ODU.  Mason now has an RPI of 42 so I'm sure I'll be hearing the at-large talk again despite the team still not having any "good" wins outside of the Patriots Center.  I'll save that conversation til after we play ODU and Hoftra again and travel down to VCU in February.  

NCAA Basketball Stats