Bear Down as Patriots Win One-Sided Affair

Story by Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan. Pictures by Photo Manager Courtney Erland.

Freshman forward Michael Morrison finally made his collegiate debut late in the first half and scored his first field goal on a powerful slam dunk at the buzzer. Morrison and the reserve players helped spark an entertaining second half as the George Mason University Patriots pounded the Brown University Bears 89-52 in their first ever game against an Ivy League opponent, scoring 50 points in the last 20 minutes.

Senior guard John Vaughan, the longest-tenured player on this year’s team, shot 8-of-12 from the field and led all scorers with 18 points. The team leader made two three-pointers to bring him within one for seventh place on Mason’s all-time three-point shooters. Vaughan started the second half with a hot shooting hand as he scored seven points in Mason’s two-minute 11-2 run.

“In our last game, we didn’t get off to a good start. This time, we were able to do that against a good Brown team,” Vaughan said.

In the first half, Mason (2-0) jumped to a 9-2 lead and soon extended their lead to double-digits. Mason’s lead never evaporated as the team started going to its reinforcements late in the first half. Freshman guard Andre Cornelius, who scored nine points in his debut against the University of Vermont, put up another six points to go along with four assists in 24 minutes. Cornelius assisted on Morrison’s dunk to end the first half with the team dominating Brown (0-2) by 19 points. Morrison finished shot 7-of-9 for 15 points, 12 of them came in the second half. His inside play resembled a second coming of former player Will Thomas. Both Morrison and Thomas are left-handed. Morrison added two blocks in his debut repertoire.

“[Morrison] plays and works hard,” said Vaughan. “He didn’t take offense to not playing in the Vermont game, but tonight he had the dunk and played aggressively in the second half.”

Morrison was not the only freshman player to debut in the home opener. Walk-on guard Jimmy Nolan impressed Patriot fans with five points after his three-pointer sent the crowd into a frenzy. Mason also welcomed guard Brian Henderson as he missed a reverse shot in his only attempt.

With the team recently returning from the 80-79 overtime thriller over Vermont, the team looked “a little gassed.”

Head Coach Jim Larranaga said, “Our bench was terrific with the players looking tired. Vlad, Cornelius, and Pearson all played the way we needed them to play.”

Sophomore forward Vlad Moldoveanu shot only 15.4 percent from behind the arc last season, but shot 3-of-5 from long range against Brown. Moldoveanu also recorded a career-high 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Moldoveanu’s three-pointers were a part of Mason’s accurate long-range shooting performance as the team converted 9-of-20 in the game.

“We can’t judge our performance on one game, but with the bench playing well, we have to be pleased if we can get that type of performance,” said Larranaga. “If [Moldoveanu] shoots like he did tonight, he is the perimeter threat we have been looking for.”

Mason’s stiffening defense forced 17 turnovers and their opponent shot only 34.8 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Peter Sullivan led the Bears with 15 points and eight rebounds. Sullivan had a rough first half after shooting 1-of-6 from the field. The Patriots held junior forward Matt Mullery, Brown’s leading scorer, to only four points. Mullery scored 22 points in Brown’s season-opening loss to University of Rhode Island.

Mason looks for senior guard Dre Smith, the long-range specialist, to return to his regular form. After shooting just 3-of-13 from the field and missing all seven three-point attempts in the season opener, Smith made his first and only three-pointer early in the game. After two games, Smith is just 1-of-11 from three-point range.

On the other hand, senior forward Darryl Monroe continues his strong comeback. Coming off a 19-point performance, the former Central Florida Community College star scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in 16 minutes. Monroe shot only 47.1 percent from the free throw line in 2007, but made 9-of-10 free throws against Vermont.

“It feels good to be back. I was able to get in shape and now, I’m ready to go this season,” Monroe said.

During the summer, the coaching staff worked on Monroe to improve his free throw shooting. The primary goal was to get their senior co-captain in better shape and according to Larranaga, “it has paid off.”

“After the season was over, we worked on [Monroe’s] free throw shooting and rebounding to get him ready at the end of games when we may depend on him to make those clutch free throws,” Larranaga said.

For the ninth time in school history, the Patriots open the season 2-0. In only three of those times did the team win that third game, including last season when the Patriots went on to extend their undefeated streak to 4-0. The Patriots will battle Hampton University on Thursday to keep the streak alive.