Patriots topple Rams for 12th straight win
RICHMOND, Va. – With the arrogance of a gunslinger – epitomized by the sideways cock of Vertrail Vaughns’ head – the George Mason Patriots walked into a chamber of horrors with no fear on Tuesday.
Ignoring a history of bitter defeats in Richmond to Virginia Commonwealth, the Patriots dominated the Rams, 71-51, at Siegel Center to take command of the Colonial Athletic Association and establish a new school record with their 12th straight victory.
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Propelled by forward Ryan Pearson (18 points, 8 rebounds), guard Cam Long (14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and freshman Vaughns (12 points), Mason (22-5, 14-2) exorcised decade worth of demons in the River City, silencing a raucous sellout crowd of 7,552.
“One thing coach [Jim Larranaga] emphasized was, it doesn’t matter who you play or where you play,” said Long. “It just matters how you play. I don’t think I’ve seen us execute a game plan as good as we did today.”
It was another efficient victory for Mason. Eleven of the 12 wins in the streak have come by at least 14 points. GMU hit 47 percent from the floor, 56 percent from beyond the arc, limited VCU to 37 percent shooting, and notched assists on 17 of 23 baskets. Mason also out-rebounded VCU 37-28.
Balanced Mason also got solid work from guard Luke Hancock (10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) and Mike Morrison (10 points, 8 rebounds).
| Up next |
| George Mason at Northern Iowa |
| When » Saturday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| TV » ESPN |
| » A prime-time ESPN Bracketbuster match-up that will likely have NCAA tournament selection implications … After its Cinderella run to the NCAA Sweet 16, Northern Iowa (19-9) appeared on track for another NCAA appearance before losing three straight Missouri Valley Conference games following the loss of blue-collar senior F Lucas O’Rear (fractured ankle) … UNI is led by 6-2 senior G Kwadzo Ahelegbe (13.2 ppg) and 6-0 sophomore Anthony James (12.2 ppg) … The Panthers ended their three-game losing streak with an 80-70 win at Bradley on Tuesday night as Ahelegbe and James combined for 49 points, hitting 9 of 13 shots from beyond the arc. |
“Our defense and our rebounding was just great,” said Long. “We basically shut them down. With the team defense we had we basically stopped what they’re good at.”
After winning 11 of the previous 12 meetings in Richmond, including three CAA championship games, VCU (20-8, 12-4) was anxious to re-assert its home dominance, and establish its NCAA tournament credentials. Instead, VCU lost its second straight at home, failing to rattle GMU with its vaunted press and intimidating crowd.
“They came in here with confidence and they took it to us,” said VCU guard Joey Rodriguez (7 points, 8 rebounds). “It’s embarrassing right now. But nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”
The Patriots took an early lead with an 11-0 run, scoring on five straight possessions, with five of the points coming from junior guard Andre Cornelius and four from Long.
“We wanted to come out of the blocks fast. We wanted to hit first,” said Pearson. “We wanted them to react to us.”
“We told our guys we needed to be sharp right from the beginning,” said Larranaga. “If we did that, it would help us to be able to control the tempo of the game. The first half was great execution, defensively especially.”
VCU freshman Rob Brandenberg (12 points), the only Ram in double figures, hit back-to-back 3-pointers as VCU shaved the deficit to 21-17.
But Mason finished the half with a 13-2 flurry, capped by a high-arching, buzzer-beating three-pointer by Vaughns, which gave Mason its biggest lead, 34-19, at intermission. As he departed the floor, Vaughns taunted the VCU crowd with a raised fist.
“Vertrail is one of those guys who comes in hot,” said Larranaga. “And you gotta cool him off.”
VCU never did. In the last 13 minutes of the first half, Vaughns hit 4 of 5 shots from beyond the arc, helping the Patriots tame the crowd.
“We knew VCU [would] pressure the whole game. That was their game plan to speed us up,” said Pearson. “When Vertrail came in the game, the spark he gave us by hitting big shots, helped us pick up our defensive intensity.”
In the second half, VCU started quickly with a three-pointer from forward Bradford Burgess and a layup by Jamie Skeen, to cut the lead to 34-24.
But that’s as close as the Rams would get as Long answered with back-to-back three-pointers, followed by five straight points by Pearson as Mason took a 45-24 lead.
“Cam is kind of a jack-of-all-trades,” said Larranaga. “He plays the one. He plays the two. He plays the three. He handles the ball against the press. He comes off the screen shooting threes. He rebounds the ball very well for a guard and he’s totally committed to the team effort.”
Down the stretch, Hancock, a 6-5 sophomore, took over, hitting 10 of 10 free throws in the final eight minutes to keep Mason comfortably in front.
Mason’s interior defense was stellar. VCU’s top two scorers, Jamie Skeen (7 points, 6 rebounds) and Burgess (6 points, 5 rebounds) were non-factors. It was their lowest combined point total this year.
“A lot of the credit goes to Mike Morrison,” said Larranaga of his 6-9 junior center. “When another team has a player like Jamie Skeen, you try to limit the number of touches he gets and Mike makes it hard for an opponent to post him up, catch it, and score.”
