Men's hoops escapes in a slugfest over Towson, 72-60

Although it was a sloppy game, the Patriots prevailed under the leadership of redhsirt sophomore guard Sherrod Wright, who contributed 22 points and a big three-pointer late in the game (John Powell).

Fairfax, Va.– In a game defined by sloppy play and turnovers, the George Mason Patriots came out victorious (15-5, 7-1) against the Towson Tigers, 72-60, maintaining their position on top of the CAA hierarchy and keeping the winless Tigers in the cellar.

Towson (0-20, 0-8) has now lost 39 straight conference games. On the season, they are averaging just 48.9 points per game, good for 344th in the nation, and are averaging just 33.8 rebounds per game, which puts them 229th in the nation.

Yet, the Tigers were able to put 60 points on the board against the Patriots, and were even able to win the rebounding battle by a wide margin, 43-30. More importantly, the Tigers dominated the offensive glass, winning that category 22-8.

“I have no explanation for it, but for some reason mentally, we just weren’t where we had been and where we had been moving in the right direction,” head coach Paul Hewitt said.

According to Hewitt as well as his players, rebounding is the main concern for this squad.

“They were just really hurting us on the boards, I think,” sophomore guard Sherrod Wright said. “They attacked us on the offensive and defensive boards really hard, they just kept pounding us.”

Aside from the poor rebounding stats, it all came down to Towson’s scrappy, sluggish play, which rubbed off on the Patriots. The Tigers, despite their record, came out aggressive and played hard for all 40 minutes. Not only did they win the rebounding battle, but they also forced 15 Mason turnovers.

“From the very first play, we could see, it was like, ‘wow, who are these guys, who is out here in the white uniforms,’” said Hewitt jokingly about his team’s lackadaisical showing.

Wright came off the bench for the Patriots and proved to be the difference in the game with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. He hit a three-pointer with 1:35 left in the game that proved to be the dagger, giving Mason a more comfortable 66-58 lead after the Tigers had cut the margin to just five.

“I just kept on being aggressive, I got the ball in certain spots that I know I can score in that I work on every day,” Wright said.

The Patriots’ bench contributed 43 of the team’s 72 points, and all 10 players who saw action entered the scoring column. Even without freshman big man Erik Copes, Hewitt has a deep squad and any player can make a difference off the bench.

Senior forward Ryan Pearson didn’t have his typical all-CAA performance, with just nine points and four rebounds. He was just 3-of-9 from the floor, as all of his shots were contested.

“They came in here, they had nothing to lose,” Pearson said. “They came in and tried to out-physical us.”

The Patriots return to action Monday, Jan. 23 as they host UNC Wilmington in the final contest of their three-game conference homestand. Hewitt hopes for a more decisive effort in the next outing.

“We got the win, and now we’ve got to make sure tomorrow we come out and practice and clean some things up,” Hewitt said.