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George Mason fends off James Madison at home

George Mason Basketball: George Mason fends off James Madison at home

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

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.  


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7 Comments:

Anonymous Moses said...

Shrug. A win is a win, but how do you let Madison hang around like that? These games have a weird feel to them.Prior to halftime the color guy Connor(?) apparently said, " Probably Coach Hewitt is going to  have the guards pick up their defensive intensity in the second half." Really? He'd wait until the second half? Anyway, with about 6 minutes left in the first half Mason came out briefly with a defensive flurry and then fizzled again. I don't know really what it is, but I think it's that Mason does not deny the ball to anyone, doesn't overplay their man. They allow the catch instead of fronting people and they don't double or trap in the back court. They give the baseline and trap there. Not saying it's that bad but the D is overall, very soft. Even their press off of a make is man to man and not much in the way of trapping. Hope I'm wrong and that the D is, or could be, better than it looks. Just doesn't seem to be much desire to create offense from it. Or maybe they just haven't been challenged. VCU or ODU's intensity will either kill Mason or will bring about  a matching of intensity and counter attacking from our guys.Still lots of positives, especially more PT for the biggies and many points in the paint.       

1:26 PM  
Anonymous Taylormade703 said...

Ryan is a beast.  Plain and simple.  If he isn't CAA POY something is wrong!

1:45 PM  
Anonymous Taylormade703 said...

On the topic of getting a practice facility in light of VCU committing to $6-8million one with less money/alumni, what do we (as GMU fans, which we all are) do to make it happen?  Simply "hoping" for one like VCU (heck, even Towson is managing to get a new facility) hasn't gotten it done.  What can we do to actually do it?

1:49 PM  
Anonymous Charlie T said...

As usual it is fun to read the comments plus your writing. Now the stage is set. We must win the games on the road were we are the favorite and protect our home court. Sounds simple but thus far we seem to like playing exciting games where our opponents leave feeling if they had done this or that they would have won. The coaches know,the players know and from what I read here some of the fans know that we have a variety of faults but lets start to give credit to this group for their commitment to keep inproving both individually and collectively. This attitude lies within this coaching staff.  

5:39 PM  
Anonymous overrated14 said...

It always amazes me when Mason wins-Very few responses.  I guess Hewitt has successfully silenced his many critics.  And when they do win, there is a so what, big deal attitude.  Granted, the conference is not as strong as its been in past years, but Mason is winning nonetheless.  And yes, the guards are making mistakes but they are improving. 

I am just happy to see ball movement and the isolations are almost non existent-Thank you Patriot God. 

Pearson no doubt POY.

6:07 PM  
Anonymous Good said...

beat VCU is our goal and it may be difficult when facing their intense pressure. Shut down their 3s will do it. Go Mason!  Please do a good job on defense on their 3s. 

8:34 PM  
Anonymous mooky_l3d said...

Nice to have the win.  Poor perimeter D almost gave the game away.  Seems like every game there is one player on the other team that shows up and scores a career high(or close to it).  Regardless these last few games have really been won on the free throw line.  I know it is a shock but they have really been shooting well from the stripe lately.  Big week with road games on the way. They must show that they can start a and finish a road game and not let up to let anyone back in the game.  The "put your foot on their neck and twist" type mentality is a must from here on out.  The bench is deep enough to not worry about fouls so lets get this done.   GO MASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9:26 PM  

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