George Mason Basketball: George Mason dominates Delaware 89-63

Thursday, January 19, 2012

George Mason dominates Delaware 89-63

Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson powered Mason to a dominating 89-63 over the Blue Hens last night. The Patriots had a season low eight turnovers and got 41 points from Pearson and Morrison. Again we saw Mason control the game by getting to the free-throw line often and converting. It was probably the cleanest game we have see Mason play so far this season as they took care of the ball and shot over 54% from the field. Sherrod Wright and Vaughn Gray provided some offense again off the bench while Bryon Allen continues to look solid at the point guard position. Speaking of Allen, we haven't seen much from him behind the arch but he hit a nice looking three-pointer to end the first half. Overall the group we are seeing now is a far cry from what we saw at the beginning of the season as the team chemistry and players have developed.

Delaware did decent work on the offensive glass but just couldn't score. On defense the Hens gave up a ton of uncontested baskets and Mason's guards literally walked right to the hoop on a handful of possessions. The difference however in this game was that Mason finished off a team after mounting a big lead and didn't get sloppy down the stretch.

The Patriots are tied for first in the CAA with ODU after Georgia State lost to Northeastern last night. They don't have a game against a top six team in the standings until homecoming on February 4th so they are currently in the drivers seat to remain in the top four of the conference standings. A lot could happen between now and then but if Mason keeps playing at this level they have an excellent chance to remain atop the standings and get an easier path to CAA finals.

Freshman Erik Copes was a late scratch last tonight and missed his second game after taking a hard fall at Drexel. Hewitt said after the game his status was questionable for Saturday's game against Towson.

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13 Comments:

GMUSSTN said...: Jacob Hoxie is shooting 1.000% on the season!!!!; 9:34 AM
Christopher Hirsch said...: Good win. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think we would be fine without Copes against Towson.; 9:52 AM
GMURULES said...: Is Copes truly hurt, or just precaution because lessor opponents?

Great game last night. Team is day and night from a month ago. Love to see it.; 10:01 AM
G-n-G said...: A couple observations on one of the more complete victories of the season. First, the team internalized Coach Hewitt's message from the JMU game--when you have a team down you keep it there. This was the margin and walk-on result that could have been had in Harrisburg. Second, Pearson talked afterward about playing inside-out and Gray is the player who most consistently gets the ball into Pearson/Morrison/Arledge. Third, Allen had a solid game but still is susceptible to a handful of head-scratching, trying to do too much possessions. He's much improved as a PG but could still stand to be a little more efficient. Fourth, it was great to see the defense turn into easy Mason offense or even flustered Blue Hens offense (during the couple times GMU employed a more concerted full-court trap). Fifth, it must be quite a luxury for Coach Hewitt to have 5 options at forward and 6 at guard. That is enviable depth and he's managed such a large rotation without having players grumble about playing time. I'm guessing it's a combination of consistent winning, players having the demeanor, and solid coaching to keep everyone in synch.; 10:18 AM
Moses said...: What I saw:

The game as a whole: I've seen more intensity at yoga class. Even the Masonettes were lackluster.That was not exactly a pressure cooker of a game except when that knucklehead Brinkley ran over Mike Mo. The Blue Hens never really went after it at all and offered little resistance. They just looked not talented and without talent you better have serious intensity and be mistake free.

Mike Mo on the other hand had a 3rd in a row nice game where he kept his composure and got some nice on the blocks points.
Vaughn Grey can shoot it. His shots hit the bottom of the net first. His misses aren't by much. If he will play D I hope he keeps getting minutes.
Ryan P- a horse as usual. Teams are really making him go right and keeping him off the low left block but Mo is a lefty too and so he can go to work there more, and has it seems.
Vertrail Vaughns- what's up with the hair cut? He looks like the evil Huron Indian in Last Of The Mohicans.
AC- nice D, seems to have matured.

All in all I don't think much can be gleaned from the game except maybe that the Blue Hens are not as new and improved as previously thought.

Towson is so bad that a Mason win won't mean anything and a loss would not be something I'd want to witness in person. I'm skipping the game unless the Masonettes announce they're performing an erotic girl on girl half time show.; 11:21 AM
couch coach said...: Last night's game was about as inspiring as playing checkers with a two year old. I'll share my dream last night, it was much more entertaining. Last night I Dreamt we were a 16 seed playing Syracuse a 1 seed; we won in overtime. Coach L and Hancock were both crying on the sidelines and doc was peeing on Coach L's leg. Revenge is best served however you can get it.; 12:04 PM
Brentrg said...: Last night was a good game. Fun to watch and the guys were into the flow of the game. I still am most impressed by Mike Mo and his inside game. NEVER have we seen this until his last three games. I love it. When he is playing like that we are a team to be reckoned with. Allen is coming along nicely, but I agree, he still presses things a bit too much. One thing I am curious about is why don't we take many 3's? I'd love someone to do some research, but I would bet money we have attempted the fewest 3's in the league. I think we got guys to hit them, but I guess a layup is a bit better percentage! Gray is also coming along nicely. I love how every year a young guy we were not expecting takes the limelight. A few years ago it was Hancock, and this year I think it is Gray. He has a sweet 3 point shot and seems to be great at penetrating the lane. Little more beef on him and he could be dominant in the CAA a few years down the road. This was a fun game to watch and excitement is building for this season.

In other news, I cracked up when reading Couch Coach's comments. I was curious how he would spin it, and at first I thought he was going to say he actually enjoyed watching the game, but then he spun it opposite!!! Love it. My thought, if you don't enjoy watching the games during the season, seeing guys improve and finally start to "get it," what fun is it to root for a team if it's only one game a year when its tourney time!!!!; 3:20 PM
couch coach said...: Many people have said "lighten up" "enjoy the season" "don't be a downer" "you're always so negative" Well... in context, that's just not so. I enjoy watching every game. That being said, as an alumnus of George Mason, my job is not to be a cheerleader outside of the stadium. My job is to push, push and push this program. I'm not going to be a 'look on the bright side' kinda guy when i see no passion in some of these blind-sided comments about how much better we look. Nope, i'm going to point out stinkers, and call-out lipstick-on- a- pig victories. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for that kind of attitude. It's just when i don't see the other side, the critical side, it has to be said. The creator of this blog doesn't have the luxury to be so critical, if he or she was, they would be a very strange voice for George Mason basketball. My comments have to be written, without them, we're just a high school basketball team with unconditional love for our program. Nope, that we're not, and our coaches 1 million dollar per year salary screams that loud and clear. Push, push and push outside of teh stadium, but cheer cheer cheer inside of it. I'm (we're fans), but i'm (we're bosses) too, and as such we must keep our distance and drive harder as fans! GO MASON!!!!; 9:46 AM
Moses said...: What I'd like to see is a program that goes out and hits the national road more early season, maybe get their asses handed to them a couple of times, maybe go 500 early but get battle hardened. Stop scheduling the Manhattans and Radfords and exchange those nothing wins for maybe an upset or at least some stress that will pay dividends later. Keep growing to where maybe the CAA isn't a big enough playground.
Reach should exceed grasp.; 1:32 PM
Taylormade703 said...: I think we'd all love to go play UCLA, Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky every year. But that's not happening. There is nothing in it for those schools - if they win they're supposed to, but they could end up losing to a very good mid-major. They are in a lose-lose situation. Fact is, we're just too good for those schools to want to play us. We aren't an "automatic" win against anybody. We are a "probable" win against Carolina or Kentucky, but it's not 100%.

The CAA isn't a big enough playground? Please explain, I'm intrigued...; 6:15 PM
couch coach said...: Bare with me, the economic situation in the United States is such that the instrument of education is going to turnover on its head. Loans will be fewer and farther from the grasp of the average American family. This in turn will leave students looking to live at home longer, and commute to more affordable colleges. It's already happening, but the perfect storm is about to hit with a 15 trillion dollar deficit coming to a head now. State schools like George Mason are in a perfect situation. The surrounding counties all have fantastic school systems; they are a perfect breeding ground for top notch talent (students) that we lose all the time to other private universities. These students become alumni of other universities and eventually move back here to one of the most prosperous areas in the country. They weaken the influence of our alumni base. This will slow, and eventually it will stop. George Mason is destined to become a top 25 educational institution. The Alumni base will grow local and strong. There will be a proud cry from an ever more influential alumni base and our sports program will explode. The days of UVA, VTECH, PENN ST, DUKE, and NORTH CAROLINA paraphernalia are going to turn to GEORGE MASON!!! MAILBOXES, BANNERS, FLAGS, T-SHIRTS, HATS, SWEATSHIRTS, CUP HOLDERS, EARRINGS AND SO FORTH… IT WILL ALL BECOME MASON!!!
Sorry for the rant, but the CAA is going to lose Mason. The only question… when we leave this pond, where will we swim?; 7:56 PM
Moses said...: I think it is harder to get the DC based schools to do it as is draws a clear recruiting line if we upset Gtown or MD. (Would that be an upset?) Thompson ducked Lefty for years, or maybe it was the other way around. Anyway, the Philly based schools that have always had a local tourney- that's what DC needs but can't get.

I wasn't talking about the KUs or Carolinas necessarily. There are lots of other strong programs, MAC schools, Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Big East, etc. that would, and have in the past, played us. Mason would have to go to their place obviously, but there are plenty of schools that will schedule us and Mason has name recognition that will help fill seats early season. (And if you look around there are lots of empty seats for many "name" schools.) And there are coaches out there who don't mind challenges in the early season and who are more concerned with how their team gels later than they are about chalking early wins.

As for the CAA it is possible to outgrow it. Not saying it isn't quality hoops and a generally strong league especially the last few years. My point really is that GMU has the resources to dominate the CAA and if that were to occur then it would be time to move on and up. Where? Not sure as the ACC and Big East are changing all the time as well and so there will probably continue to be reshuffling of existing conferences.

If Hewitt can recruit as well as has been mentioned, then this could well happen. Calhoun, Calipari, Huggins, Roy Williams- these guys are not tactical geniuses. They make sure their barn stays filled with premium horses and then let them run. Which is why they get surprised in the tourney by the Butlers of the world that out execute them.; 8:40 AM
Chris S said...: The offense has been progressing nicely over the past month. This an be attributed to two things.

1.) Much better play from B Allen
2.) Morrisson's remarkable flowering before our eyes - he now has an offensive presence in the paint.
Both of these things allows Pearson to move in and out and it is harder for defenses to double down on him. These two developments can be tied to the ability of the coaching staff to drive development and improvement in players during the year - something we saw very little of under Coach L.; 10:32 AM

George Mason dominates Delaware 89-63

George Mason Basketball

Thursday, January 19, 2012

George Mason dominates Delaware 89-63

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