George Mason fends off James Madison at home

Ryan Pearson scored 29 points and tied a career-high grabbing 15 rebounds as George Mason fought off a relentless James Madison squad to win 89-79; their sixth straight. Pearson was 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line and hit a crucial one late in the second half.  The Dukes would not go away easy and guard Humpty Hitchens finished the day with 27 points but in the end the Patriots dominated the paint, scoring 48 points from there. Mason had more offensive rebounds than JMU had total, which something we haven't seen much of this season. Overall Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison have shown a much better commitment to rebounding since the beginning of the season.  In the first half the Dukes were hanging with the Patriots but continued to give up easy lay-ups. Late in the second half the Dukes cut the lead to four but then a Bryon Allen burst through the lane for a layup which was then followed up by Pearson blocking A.J. Davis' three-pointer attempt. At one point in the second half Pearson went on a run where he had 12 of Mason's 14 points.  So naturally the team didn't need as much from their bench as they did against Hofstra but still got good performances from Jon Arledge and Erik Copes. Copes finished with four points and five rebounds, all of which were offensive boards, in his first game back after missing five games.  It was a quiet night for Sherrod Wright but the back court trio of Bryon Allen, Andre Cornelius and Vertrail Vaughns combined for 38 points and had a good day from behind the arch.  

The Patriots remain alone in first place in the conference standings despite VCU's narrow victory over Georgia State yesterday.  They head to road next to play Delaware where they always seems to get a tough game from the Blue Hens.  Don't forget tomorrow the BracketBuster pairings are announced.  

NCAA Basketball

College Basketball