Mason Heads to Championship With Win Over UNCW

By Connect Mason Sports Director Damien Sordelett
First photo by Broadside Photographer Mahmoud Lababidi
Second photo by Broadside Asst. Photography Editor Laura Foltz

RICHMOND – Achilles probably could never say that his weakness was this powerful.

George Mason’s thorn in its side this year has been the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, a team that plays a scrambling defense that attacks strengths and exposes weaknesses.

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The second half of Sunday’s CAA semifinal match-up would be no different. However, a way to overcome that weakness was found in the first half and proved to be the ultimate weapon.

George Mason (22-10) shot 54 percent for the first half and was able to withstand UNC-Wilmington holding them to just 29 percent in the second half in a 53-41 victory Sunday night that advanced the Patriots to the CAA championship game.

“Our effort was good enough to win the game but our execution wasn’t,” UNC-Wilmington coach Benny Moss said. “In the first half, we gave up entirely too many easy shots, therefore they shot a good percentage and developed a working margin. We just couldn’t score the basketball to really get over the hump.”

The Patriots built a 31-25 lead at the half, led by eight points apiece from Louis Birdsong and Dre Smith. The scoring allowed the Patriots to set up their defense to slow down the Seahawks (20-13), who hit just 36 percent of their shots in the first half.

“We were able to kind of control the game with our defense. Very, very nice hard-fought victory,” George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said.

That included holding the Seahawks to just 22 percent shooting in the second half, including 2-of-15 from 3-point range. The Seahawks' poor shooting was a sign of how much Larranaga and his staff have emphasized defense to this squad.

“We held them to 28 percent [shooting] today, so we were just playing some really good defense and that wins championships,” said Folarin Campbell, who scored a team-high 15 points.

What also was a key factor for Mason and will help them win the CAA championship is the play of their bench. Chris Fleming for the second straight night scored six points and filled in valiantly when Will Thomas was on the bench.

“Halfway through the year, we kind of struggled on the bench,” Fleming said. “I feel like now we are starting to step up, and all three of us are trying to do whatever we can to help the starters and let them have a break.”

Cam Long played 32 minutes off the bench, much in part to an injury to Smith in the latter stages of the first half. Smith did not return in the second half, but is likely to play Monday night against William & Mary.

“I think tournament play is all about everyone rising to the occasion, it can’t be one guy, two guys, it can’t be just your seniors, you got to have everybody contributing,” Larranaga added.

Louis Birdsong was the only other Patriot to score in double figures with 10 points.

With a bench that has come alive in the tournament and with the way the defense has stepped up, Mason is on the threshold of a place where many counted them out after a loss to Ohio: the NCAA Tournament.

“Every team knows that when the season begins that everybody’s goal is get to the Big Dance. We’ve moved one step closer to that,” said Larranaga.

Notes: William & Mary defeated VCU in the other semifinal match-up. The championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN. Will Thomas had another quiet night with six points, but controlled the boards with 14 rebounds. The Seahawks were led by T.J. Carter's 16 points.