Old Dominion out-muscles George Mason

The Patriots were undersized in this one and I thought it was going to doom them all game long. But Mason didn't back down after ODU's relentless inside game was thriving early. They would counter the Monarchs tough inside possessions by hitting a three-pointer or driving to the basket.  In the end the difference was really ODU's ability to grab an offensive rebound with ease that led to enough second chance points to put away the game late and sealed the 69-65 win. The Monarchs finished with 23 second chance points, had to win when you give up that on the defensive end. The Patriots also had no answer for Frank Hassell who really hurt them in the 2nd half.  Cam Long and Luke Hancock paced Mason in the first half and saw Ryan Pearson score all of his 13 points in the 2nd giving Mason the lead for a stretch. As a whole the team was hitting outside shots but the Monarchs had an answer for every one of Mason's moves.  The size advantage for ODU forced Larranaga to change his usual gameplan which was evidenced by the fact that Vertrail Vaughns didn't even enter the game.  As a result Johnny Williams got more minutes and had two baskets that I am sure has fans asking why he isn't playing more. 

What to take from this game is that Mason can hang with just about any team they have to face. A guard heavy shooting team or a big front court team the Patriots appear ready for the challenge.  It was good to see the fight in them after that lackluster performance we saw at Hofstra.  They continue to shoot the ball well but sometimes it just isn't enough against fundamentally better teams.  There isn't another team in the CAA that could beat Mason the way ODU did. Sure JMU has a solid front court but not nearly as many big bodies as ODU has.  You have to hope they recognize how important rebounding can be on both ends of the court. Even though they lost that battle in this one they were definitely more aggressive on the boards then what we have seen.

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