Patriots escape for Homecoming victory over ODU, 54-50

Ryan Pearson had another CAA Player of the Year caliber night with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Patriots Homecoming victory over the Old Dominion Monarchs Saturday afternoon (John Powell).

In front of a sold-out Homecoming crowd, the Patriots were able to bounce back from their loss earlier in the week by taking down the Monarchs of Old Dominion by a final count of 54-50 in what was a sluggish game offensively for both squads. With the win, the Patriots swept the Monarchs for the first time in 10 years.

George Mason (19-6, 11-2) shot just 27.7 percent from the floor in the game and ODU (15-10, 10-3) shot just 32.8 percent. Neither team could find the bottom of the basket throughout.

Even worse, the Patriots were just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. Yet, that one three-pointer may have been the deciding factor in the game. With the shot-clock winding down and the ball in freshman Corey Edwards’ hands, he threw up a desperation heave that happened to bounce off the glass and through the net.

“When I shot it, it felt kind of funny, like it was either going to be off the backboard or an air-ball, one or the other, but thank God it went in,” Edwards said.

That shot gave the Patriots a 43-37 lead and seemed to deflate the Monarchs.

Aside from Edwards’ lucky shot, the difference in the game came down to free throws. The Patriots went 27-of-35 from the line, including a strong 11-of-13 performance from senior Ryan Pearson, as opposed to just 10-of-18 for the Monarchs.

“Got outscored 17 at the free-throw line, lost by four,” said ODU head coach Blaine Taylor about the reason for the loss.

Pearson continued his CAA Player of the Year campaign with his 10th double-double of the season, mainly due to his outstanding performance at the free throw line. He finished the game with 17 points, despite shooting just 3-of-11 from the floor, to go along with 10 rebounds.

“I’ve got some great teammates, you know, even when I miss a layup, it’s like, ‘I know you’ll make the next five,’” Pearson said.

Pearson attributes his rough shooting performance more to the ODU defensive pressure than anything his team was doing wrong. He knew the Monarchs would come out playing tough and expected a battle inside.

“We’re 11-2 in conference now, and as you get into the last five games in conference, things just get intense […] the games are just more physical,” Pearson said.

Although the game was extremely physical throughout, head coach Paul Hewitt still thinks his team’s offensive struggles simply come from his guys not knocking down shots. However, he was impressed with his team’s defensive effort, holding the Monarchs to just 50 points.

“I like the fact that though we haven’t shot the ball well the last three or four games, today we played defense regardless,” Hewitt said.

Mason is now back in first alone atop the conference standings at 11-2, but they have not been playing their best basketball over the past few games. After barely beating Hofstra and losing at Delaware, the Patriots came out sluggish in tonight’s win. The first half was perhaps the worst Hewitt’s squad has played all season, as they shot just 20 percent from the floor and made just one of their first 17 field goal attmepts.

Yet, the Patriots did escape.

They return to action at home against a struggling Hofstra team (8-17, 2-11) on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Despite Hofstra’s poor record, the Patriots only won 55-50 in their previous meeting in New York.