Patriots clinch regular season CAA Title with win over Northeastern, 67-61

Junior Ryan Pearson led the Patriots to their 14th straight win Thursday night with 18 points and 15 rebounds. This win locks them with the top seed in the CAA Tournament. (John Powell)

On senior night for guards Cam Long and Isaiah Tate, the Patriots (24-5, 15-2) narrowly escaped in a hard-fought contest against the Huskies of Northeastern (10-19, 5-12), winning 67-61 to capture their 14th straight victory.

Not only was it their 14th straight win overall, but it was their 14th consecutive win in the Patriot Center as well. This was the second time in school history the Patriots went undefeated at home for the season, the last time being just two seasons ago.

“What’s nice is we’ve ended the season undefeated,” head coach Jim Larranaga said. “We don’t have to worry about that streak again until next year some time.”

Tate, usually the “sixth man” on the team, got a rare starting opportunity in honor of senior night. Although he only played 10 minutes due to a wrist injury, which he sustained prior to the game, he made an impact early. The Patriots were trailing 4-0 and were struggling to find offense from the starters when Tate knocked down a three-pointer to register their first points of the game.

Sophomore Luke Hancock, who was replaced by Tate in the starting lineup, checked in and scored four quick points, giving the Patriots a 9-4 lead. Redshirt freshman Vertrail Vaughns also came in off the bench and provided instant offense by draining a three.

The Patriots’ lead hovered around five points the remainder of the first half in a low scoring affair. Junior forward Ryan Pearson carried the squad in the first half with eight points and nine rebounds, which put him over the hump for 1,000 career points and 500 career boards. He is the 30th player in Mason history to score over 1,000 points. The 29th was his teammate, Long, earlier this season.

“It starts in practice,” Pearson said. “Coach always makes a big deal about rebounding and how it’s so important. So I just try to get myself in the right position to get the rebound to clean up on the glass.”

The Patriots had the ball at the end of the first half, leading 27-19, with a chance to extend the margin to double digits for the first time. Yet, the Huskies forced a turnover and dropped a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 27-22 at the break. This basket proved to be a momentum changer into the second half.

The Huskies immediately tied the game at 27-27 in the second. The two squads exchanged baskets for a couple minutes until NU jumped out to a 42-37 lead.

“Close games are always capable of happening,” Long said. “You can’t fold under pressure, you got to be able to take the hit and keep going.”

Once again, Vaughns was clutch for the Patriots. He buried a three to cut the margin to two. On the very next play, he stole the ball and got fouled, knocking down both free throws to even the game.

Next it was Long’s turn. After struggling mightily in the first half with just one point on 0-4 shooting, he caught fire in the second. He scored on three straight possessions for the Patriots, two of which were from beyond the arc, giving his team a 50-44 lead.

“I would definitely say I was a little anxious,” said Long about playing on senior night. “But it’s a good thing I was capable of cooling down a little bit in the second half and being able to do what I was supposed to do to help my team win.”

With just over two minutes left in the game, Hancock had a no-look behind-the-back pass to Pearson who had an uncontested layup. This play spread the lead to nine points and brought the crowd for to its feet. It was the largest crowd in Mason history for a weeknight game.

Pearson ended the game with another double-double, registering 18 points and 15 rebounds.

“It was just a little too much of Ryan Pearson, I thought he had a terrific basketball game,” Northeastern head coach Bill Coen said. “He caused us matchup problems all evening. We really couldn’t make enough plays on the offensive end to really counterbalance what he was able to accomplish against us.”

Long had 13 points, 12 of which came in the second half, to go along with nine boards.

“Rather than trying to create for myself, my teammates created for me,” Long said. “My teammates were able to get into the paint and draw all the attention and then kick it out, and I was open for a lot of shots.”

Vaughns rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points on 3-4 shooting from three.

“Always somebody seems to step up, and my job is to try to find that guy,” Larranaga said.

The Patriots end the regular season at Georgia State (11-17, 6-11) on Saturday at 6 p.m. they have already won the regular season CAA championship, but will be going for their 15th straight win.

“These streaks basically represent all the hard work these guys have put in since August,” Larranaga said.

With loses earlier this week by No. 24 Temple and No. 22 Kentucky, another win this weekend will likely provide the Patriots with a national ranking when the new polls come out Monday.