Men's hoops holds on for 92-90 overtime win in season opener

Ryan Pearson connects on the game winning shot in the Patriots' overtime 92-90 victory over the Rhode Island Rams Friday night. He scored 28 points in the game, including six points in the overtime period (John Powell).

The George Mason men’s squad (1-0) opened the season strong with a hard-fought 92-90 overtime victory over the Rhode Island Rams (0-1) Friday night in front of a packed house in the Patriot Center, capturing their ninth consecutive season-opening win.

“It was an exciting game,” head coach Paul Hewitt said. “We knew Rhode Island was going to come in and pressure us, we worked on that pretty extensively the last three days.”

With the Rams’ full-court pressure, the Patriots got off to a sluggish start. The first half was a low scoring grind-it-out game that ended all square at 33, but the second half turned into an electric run-and-gun track meet.

Fast break points proved to be the difference in the contest, as the Patriots led in that category 28-12 after figuring out how to beat the Rhode Island pressure in the second half.

Four players scored in double figures for the Patriots, including a 28-point performance from senior leader Ryan Pearson. Pearson struggled in the first half, going 3-11 from the field with just six points. The second half, however, was an entirely different story, as he went 8-11 from the field for 22 points.

“I’m just so excited right now that I can’t even talk,” Pearson said. “That was a great game, I wouldn’t want to start the season off with a better team.”

Pearson carried the team in overtime with six points, including a layup to take a one-point lead followed by a free throw with 11 seconds remaining to stretch the lead to 92-90, which was the final points of the game.

“This was real important for us, it was a test physically and mentally,” Pearson said.

The other Patriots in double figures were sophomore redshirts Sherrod Wright and Vertrail Vaughns with 17 each and senior Mike Morrison with 11. Morrison was the team’s leading scorer in the first half with seven before getting into foul trouble in the second half.

Vaughns was the only player on the team to hit a three-pointer. He was 2-4 from beyond the arc, one coming late in the second half and the other in overtime.

In addition to Wright’s 17 points, he came up big on the boards, including three offensive rebounds at clutch moments late in regulation and in overtime. This was Wright’s first game back after sitting out all of last season with a medical redshirt.

“It was a great experience, the first couple minutes I couldn’t believe I was out there,” Wright said. “It’s been a year and I’ve just been waiting to get on the court.”

With the loss of Luke Hancock, the craftiest attacker on last year’s team, Wright is expected to fulfill that role this season. All of his points came on drives in the paint or in transition.

“Coach Hewitt has been stressing throughout the whole year about transition, he thought we could get a lot of points out of transition,” Wright said.

The unsung hero of the contest was freshman point guard Corey Edwards who made back-to-back steals with just over one minute remaining in overtime. One of those steals came in a Rhode Island 3-on-1 fast break, and somehow Edwards came out with the ball going the other way.

“He’s a gamer, he is absolutely a gamer, that’s the only way I can describe him.” Hewitt said. “Tonight I probably could’ve gotten him on the floor more but I thought Bryon [Allen] was doing a good job against the pressure.”

Allen finished with nine points and led the team with seven assists in his first time as the team’s starting point guard.

The Patriots are now riding a 15-game winning streak in the Patriot Center, dating back to last season. They have not lost a home contest since March 16, 2010.

“You guys have a great environment here,” Hewitt said. “And I say you guys not that I’m an outsider but this is my first game here […] I walked in and saw the student section filled to the top both sides, it was nice.”

The energy especially erupted toward the end of regulation and throughout the overtime period, perhaps propelling the Patriots to victory.

The Rams, who are coming off a season in which they went 20-14 overall and 9-7 in Atlantic-10 competition, were previously 9-1 against CAA opponents before dropping this contest.

The Rams’ senior guard Jamal Wilson led all scorers with 38 points on 13-22 shooting from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line. They had five players score in double figures in total.

The Patriots, who were 3-1 against A-10 foes one year ago, have one more game this season against an A-10 opponent as they host Duquesne Dec. 21.

One area of concern for the Patriots moving forward is their free throw shooting. As a team, they went 16-28 from the line, just 57 percent. Pearson made just one of two with 11 seconds remaining in overtime with a chance to extend the lead to three points.

They return to action Monday, Nov. 14 against Florida International in the opening round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off in Blacksburg, Va. The tip-off is slated for 9:30 p.m.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that I have a group of young guys that are very cooperative and are working very hard,” Hewitt said.