George Mason hosts Towson for final home game of the season

George Mason still has a chance to grab the #2 seed in the CAA tournament bracket, but they will have to win these next two games. Tonight they host Towson in their final home game of the year and are looking for their third straight win. Mason won at Towson back in late January by 10 points despite getting killed on the glass. The Tigers grabbed 21 offensive rebounds compared to the Patriots eight. For the most part they held forward Jerrelle Benimon in check and didn't let him take over. Erik Copes and Jonathan Arledge have been playing much better since that game and essentially the Patriots have a different look in the front court. Lately they hasn't been foul trouble issues and they will need to again be careful tonight. 

Copes could be the key for Mason if they want to have any success in March and he seems to be closer to 100% health at this point. His energy and production have been much improved and it's big help to this team. If he continues to be a 10 and 10 guy down the stretch on top of his defensive skills, I think this team has a much better chance of doing something in the CAA tournament. Johnny Williams might be returning soon and I don't know if that will affect much in the front court. They have definitely been tougher and more productive up front in his absence though.

On the other hand, Sherrod Wright seems to be in a bit of a rut. He's only reached the 20-point mark once since they were blown out at Northeastern and scored only six against William & Mary. In fact he was benched in the second half for his poor play but later came back and played smarter. He's averaged only 11.2 PPG over the last six games and that's a big deal when so much of the Patriots offense revolves around this guy. They've only lost two games during that stretch but he needs to snap out of it for Mason to really be competitive down this last leg of the season.

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Here are the Gabe Norwood bobbleheads they are giving out tonight: