Battle of the Orange Line comes to the Patriot Center

The Mason Nation is looking forward to rocking the Patriot Center as local rival George Washington comes to town Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Peter Flint)

 The George Mason Patriots (4-2) return to the court Wednesday night against local rivals, the Colonials of George Washington (2-2), in the second round of what has been hailed as the “Battle of the Orange Line.”

The Patriots will look to avenge last year’s double-digit defeat in the Smith Center at GW. Although the Patriots struggled mightily in that contest, they played the game minus two starters, Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson, who were serving a one-game suspension.

“Being able to play a George Washington who is from our neighborhood is a real challenge for us,” Head Coach Jim Larranaga said. “They’ve enjoyed more success against us than we have against them.”

This year, however, the Patriots are coming off back-to-back wins and are playing in front of the home crowd.

The excitement for this game has been brewing all season. Mason’s Student Government made an official “Battle of the Orange Line” Facebook page, which already has over 1,150 confirmed fans.

“This year is all about redemption,” junior Taylor Niehoff said, a proud member of the Mason Nation. “They are a local team in a better conference and we don’t get to play them often, and last year they crushed us.”

The Patriots will play four teams from the Atlantic 10 this season. They are 1-0 against A10 foes thus far, having already defeated Charlotte in the Charleston Classic. They will play GW this week, and Duquesne and Dayton later this month.

“The Atlantic 10 has a good reputation, but so does the CAA,” Larranaga said.

Larranaga picked up his 250th win at Mason on Saturday against Florida Atlantic, and will try to pick up his 251st against the Colonials.