College of 'Charge-leston': Patriots Fall to Cougars 85-83

Fired up from homecoming festivities, the crowd cheered on Mason this past Saturday at a packed game at the Patriot Center. After a close game, the College of Charleston Cougars came out on top. 
(Photo by Student Media Photography Manager Peter Flint)

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With a strong connection from the past, both head coaches saw eye to eye in their first ever head-to-head matchup. George Mason Patriots Head Coach Jim Larranaga and College of Charleston Cougars Head Coach Bobby Cremins both agreed that Patriots sophomore forward Ryan Pearson’s offensive foul was called correctly as the Cougars held on to win 85-83 in the ESPN BracketBuster game on Saturday night.

“I think [the BracketBuster] is a tremendous concept; I think it gives a lot of juice to the weekend where a lot of teams are fired up to showcase their talents,” said Larranaga. “I thought the game itself was extremely entertaining and well-played. I was thrilled to see the crowd cheering for us wildly during the game.”

After winning 25 of its past 26 games at the Patriot Center, Mason fell back-to-back at home for the first time since the 2007 season. The loss drops Mason to 16-12 overall and 1-5 in February. The Cougars improved to 19-9, winning six of its past seven and 12 of the last 15 games.

The Cougars came into the game with a high-powered offense, averaging 74.4 points per game, third best in the Southern Conference. Additionally, the Cougars ranked 10th in the conference with 72.3 points given up per game. The Patriots, on the other hand, have been known for its defensive-oriented strategy, but on Saturday night, the team displayed its offensive side, shooting 56.3 percent from the field and heading into halftime with a 43-40 lead. This was just the third time the Patriots eclipsed the 40-point mark in the first half.

“I think we’re better suited when the opponent wants to run a lot,” said Larranaga. “We don’t just have the defensive ability to create the tempo, which we did. We actually started out with that idea to create an uptempo, so we can get out and run. If we can somehow figure out a way to get everyone running like that, we can score in the 80s. We did that during the stretch in January, but it’s when we slow it down that we become a little lethargic.”

The game started with Mason taking an early 8-2 lead on two 3-pointers, but the Cougars ignited its offense, turning an 11-6 deficit to an 18-13 lead over a span of three minutes. After answering with six consecutive points, to go along with Charleston misfiring 3-pointers, the Patriots matched its largest lead of the game at 31-25. Leading the SoCon with 9.4 treys per game, the Cougars succeeded in making only three on 13 attempts in the first half.

While it was a typical Cougar high-scoring game, Mason received a large contribution from its first half unsung hero, freshman forward Johnny Williams. Entering the game with 2.4 points per game and sitting out in last Tuesday’s loss to the William & Mary Tribe, Williams came off the bench and immediately started dunking the ball and hitting jump shots, which led to 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half. The Patriots dominated the boards, outrebounding the Cougars 20-10, and scored 17 second-chance points.

The Patriots were unable to sustain its explosive offense from the first half, but on the other side of the court, the Cougars took advantage of Mason’s misses and quickly turned a three-point deficit into a five-point lead five minutes into the second half. Trailing 55-49 with just over 13 minutes left, Mason cut the lead to one at 55-54 after Williams hit a free throw after being fouled on a dunk. Midway through the second half, the Cougars started its own run and extended its lead to 71-60 at the 6:38 mark.

As Mason slowly crawled back, the Cougars answered with a basket of its own. A 3-pointer from redshirt freshman forward Kevin Foster to trim into Charleston’s lead to 73-68 resulted with a jumper from forward Jeremy Simmons. Freshman guard Sherrod Wright made a layup on the next play, but Cougars guard Andrew Goudelock, who displays incredible range, dialed from behind the arc to keep Charleston’s lead at eight.

Down by 11 points at one point in the second half, the Patriots continued to chip into Charleston’s lead and the crowd’s intensity gradually shifted the momentum of the game. After closing the gap to 79-75, junior guard Cam Long continued Mason’s rally with a 3-pointer with just under a minute left in regulation. With 12 seconds left in the game, the Cougars held an 83-79 lead, but after a layup from freshman forward Luke Hancock, sophomore guard Andre Cornelius forced a turnover to give the ball back to Mason in a one-possession game.

On the inbound with eight seconds left, Pearson broke away from a defender, and after receiving the pass from Long, Pearson drove to the basket and hit a bankshot, which momentarily riled the crowd up expecting a potential go-ahead free throw had the basket counted. Referee Brian Shey, however, whistled Pearson for the charging foul; much to the dismay of the 8,370 fans at their own Homecoming, the Cougars sealed the deal in the closing seconds.

Saturday not only marked Mason’s homecoming game and the emergence of several under-the-radar players, it was also the reunion between two former colleagues; yet, it was the first-ever meeting between the two high-profiled coaches. While the two have known each other for over 40 years and have shown the utmost respect for one another, both Larranaga and Cremins agreed on the fact that the defensive player held his position before taking the charge.

“It was a great crowd and a great game,” said Cremins. “I thought we had them, but we just didn’t finish it. We got a little crazy, and I didn’t expect them to have the ball to have the chance to tie or win. It was definitely a charge.”

Six Patriots scored in double figures with Williams leading the way with 18 points. After sitting out in the game against the Tribe, Williams provided 18 minutes off the bench; for the second straight game, Mason saw productive play from the big men who filled in for the suspended sophomore forward Mike Morrison.

“I’ve been working on my game outside of practice and just trying to get comfortable [with] my position, which I don’t think I’m nowhere near, but I think I’m starting to feel comfortable now,” said Williams.

While Williams had his breakout game on Saturday, Foster followed up his career-high 22 points from Tuesday with his first career double-double on 13 points and 10 rebounds. Despite dealing with the nerves in starting his first career game, Foster quickly adjusted in his fill-in role, providing 24 productive minutes.

“In my first career start, I was nervous, but it felt good at the same time because I sat out last year, so I was very excited to play this year,” said Foster. “I’ve been working on my game and trying to contribute the best way I can.”

The Cougars were led by White, Jr. with 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting and three 3-pointers. White, Jr. had a stellar performance, but it was the latter period in which he was a bigger threat to the Mason defense. In the second half alone, White, Jr. scored 18 points. Guard Andrew Goudelock, who came into Saturday with a team-leading 19.3 points per game, moved into fourth of Charleston’s all-time leading scorers list after picking up 15 points in a game-high 38 minutes.

Forward Jeremy Simmons added 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for the Cougars. However, his defining moment came on the Pearson charge.

“Jeremy is an athlete,” said Cremins. “He is our big inside presence, he is one of the best athletes in the country, and for some of these kids, they were missed by the big schools because of this or that, but Jeremy is a great athlete. I’m really proud of him for taking that charge.”

Mason returns to conference play on Wednesday in Newark, Del. against the Delaware Blue Hens and wraps up the regular season at home against the Northeastern Huskies next Saturday.