George Mason falls in game one of the CBI championship at Santa Clara

George Mason lost game one last night of the CBI championship against Santa Clara 81-73. Sherrod Wright struggled mightily going 0-for-6 from the field and scoring only three points in 30 minutes of playing time. Overall it was a sloppy game on both sides and Mason couldn't take advantage of their opponents turnovers like they had been doing in other CBI games. The Broncos efficient offense build a strong first half lead and the Patriots struggled to close the gap. Jonathan Arledge (21 points) had another great night on offense but he didn't get much help until it was too late. Patrick Holloway provided a huge spark in the second half when Mason cut the lead to three. During an 11-2 Mason run Holloway scored 10 consecutive points but they couldn't slow down Santa Clara's offense enough to regain the lead. It looked like the Broncos were going to coast to victory on their three-point shooting alone but that wasn't the big issue on defense for Mason. The Broncos were able to go 21-for-25 from the free-throw line in the second half due to Mason's sloppy defense. It was too much to overcome given how poorly Mason was shooting the ball.


The Patriots just didn't seem ready for this one, for whatever reason. Shots weren't falling and they mishandled countless passes that resulted in turnovers. The fast-breaking team that was getting points off turnovers early in games didn't show up in Santa Clara and their star player was nearly invisible. Defensively they couldn't stop any of the Broncos big runs. Kevin Foster was open far too often and on top of that they had three others with 10 or more points to worry about.

Mason has a chance to regroup now and try to get a win at home the RAC Wednesday night to force game three at the Patriot Center. The intensity and noise of playing in the small confines of the RAC could be an advantage for Mason. Defense will be have to be the key for them though, in order to stay alive in this championship. What we saw last night isn't going to cut it and they will need more effort trying to slow down the Bronco's efficient offense. The perimeter defense wasn't horrible but will need to be better. They aren't going to shut down guys like Kevin Foster or Marc Trasolini but they can limit the amount of wide open looks they get.

Sherrod Wright will likely bounce back in Fairfax, unless that lingering foot injury is a problem again. It's been rare to see Mason's offense running well when he is limited and they will have a hard time winning Wednesday with him scoring only three points. Santa Clara is the best team in the CBI field this year but Mason had been playing better defense up until this point and

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