Men's Basketball pulls away late against Delaware to win 75-66

Junior forward Ryan Pearson led the way for the Patriots with 19 points Monday night in their 75-66 victory over the Delaware Blue Hens at the Patriot Center. (John Powell)

George Mason (10-3, 2-0) was already in second place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings going into their matchup with Delaware (6-6, 1-1), but they were looking to solidify that place with a solid win on Monday night.

But the Blue Hens were nothing to laugh about. Last year they looked dismal, but in their 2010-2011 campaign, they already knocked off the conference favorite, Old Dominion, by a 75-67 margin.

And they took their best to the Patriot Center to take on a Patriot team who won seven of their last eight games. Mason beat seven straight opponents before falling on the road to Dayton as they closed out a 3-game road trip last week.

The first half went by quickly, but physically. In a low-scoring half until the last few minutes, in which the Patriots led 33-28, Delaware was charged with 12 personal fouls to Mason’s eight.

The numbers do not even tell the whole story though. With nearly every foul called, fans and coaches from both teams protested. One referee said to Delaware Head Coach Monte Ross, “Don’t do that again,” when he came onto the court to make a comment.

The aggressive play stopped abruptly after senior guard Isaiah Tate brought down an arm on Delaware sophomore guard Malcolm Hawkins’ neck. Hawkins did not respond initially and had to be taken off the court on a stretcher.

“I think the key to us was to come out aggressive,” junior Ryan Pearson said. “Delaware has a great scorer in Jawan Carter and a much improved big man in Higgins and we really tried to keep them two [sic] from getting going.”

It came down to shooting in the first half. The lead changed six times in the half, mostly due not to Mason’s 48.1 percent shooting, but to their 33.3 percent shooting from the free throw line. They just could not capitalize.

“I thought we got off to the kind of start that you get when you are a little anxious,” Head Coach Jim Larranaga said. “But we settled down. We shared the ball very, very well [and] played a little better defense in the second half.”

It was a tale of two halves though as the Patriots were able to pull away late, winning 75-66.

In the first, senior guard Cam Long scored 10 points, but only scored one in the second. Sophomore guard Luke Hancock was held to four points in the first, but exploded to finish with 17 for the game.

“Just getting under control and getting shots that we normally take in practice that coach and other players on the team recognize,” Pearson said. “I think we were a little anxious as Coach told us in the first half to get conference play started so in the second half I think all we had to do was to just calm down and take shots that we know we can make.”

Pearson dominated the second half. He finished with 19 points and had five rebounds, four of them defensive, and played hard for 33 minutes, leading the team. It proved to be the difference, while the power forward position’s minutes were split between junior Mike Morrison, sophomore Johnny Williams and freshman Jonathan Arledge.

Tate, known as the sixth man, was the deciding factor, a player almost as diverse as Long. His final stat sheet showed a block and a steal and four rebounds on defense, while going 3-for-5 shooting with two 3-pointers and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line to seal the game.

Tate put the focus on the team getting him the ball. Mason had 11 assists on the night, all from the starting five.

“A lot of it is us having the same core from last year that we have, and over the summer we really worked on chemistry and sharing the ball,” Tate said. “Our coach always stresses getting a lot of touches and sharing the ball and a lot of times in the game everyone’s making that extra pass because we trust each other on the court. So everyone else is always making their shots and we’re finishing and having poise under stress in those games.”

Mason goes back on the road to play another 3-game road trip, meaning they will play six out of seven games away from the Patriot Center. Mason has gone 2-1 on the road this season, but conference play is much more difficult in the CAA, which is ranked ninth in the RPI. The Patriots are ranked 56 in the RPI, fourth in the conference.

“As I said listening to the coaches in the league, I think everybody feels good about their team right now,” Larranaga said. “Some guys said that we’re ‘still a work in progress,’ but it was not like ‘we are not playing good.’ It’s ‘we’re playing good, but we can play better.’ So winning on the road is going to be a real challenge for everybody.”

VCU, who owned a 9-4, 1-0 margin going into Monday dropped their matchup at Georgia State by 12 points. A few weeks ago, the Blue Hens beat Old Dominion, the favorite to win the conference. The road is tough in the CAA.