Mason falls in finale to VCU's pressure

Ryan Pearson covers his head after fouling out of Saturday night's loss at VCU. (John Powell)

RICHMOND, Va. – The men’s basketball team (23-8, 14-4) evened their record against the VCU Rams (25-6, 15-3) – both teams winning on their home turf – to close out their regular season. Unable to break the Rams' defensive pressure or claw back from a double-digit first-half deficit, the Patriots fell 77-89. 

It was not a terribly important game. The two teams were playing for second place in the CAA tournament, with nearly every other team already slated for their postseason rankings.

The consistent turnovers gave way to early Rams possessions and easy points. Over the game, VCU outscored Mason 22-4 on turnovers. The home team went on a 12-0 run in the first half, and the Patriots could do nothing to claw back.

It was a blatant difference to the game a mere 11 days before, when the game stayed close for the duration, until Sherrod Wright’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer sealed the win. Saturday's game stayed close, but starting with a Bradford Burgess trey, the 12-point run brought the game to a 16-28 VCU advantage with ten minutes to go in the half.

“They’re the type of team that are going to have those runs,” Coach Paul Hewitt said, “not that you can see them. You try to do your best to avoid them. But if you hang in there, you’re going to give yourself a chance.”

It looked like an easy dissection for VCU. Every inbound was contested, guards were double teamed, and the rarely-seen dribbling of Mike Morrison made regular appearances. The point guards take most of the responsibility; Bryon Allen and Corey Edwards totaled five turnovers in the first half, en route to a team total of 20.

“We’ve just got to control the ball,” Pearson said. “Can’t turn the ball over. I think it was like 17-4 when they were scoring, and they were scoring points off our turnovers. If we didn’t turn the ball over, we would’ve given ourselves a better chance at getting back in the game.”

There was no difference from the VCU defense the Patriots have witnessed for the last two seasons. In 2011, Mason handedly took down the Rams at the Siegel Center in Richmond before falling to the Black and Gold in the CAA tournament. Only days ago, the two teams hung together, waiting for the final shot to decide the game. Despite improved scoring numbers, Hewitt was clearly not pleased with the turnovers, high above the mark of 11 he set last fall.

“Not well, not well,” he said of handling the VCU pressure. “Second half, I thought we did a better job. Had a couple chances to get back into the game … but fouls kind of killed our momentum.”

Despite dismal ball control from the guards, Morrison and Pearson had defining performances. Morrison was one rebound away from a double-double with 10 points and four assists. Pearson went 8-of-14 and made 7-of-8 from the charity stripe for a 24-point, 9-rebound game.

Sherrod Wright tried to come through in the clutch again, but was shut down as time wound down. He only scored three points in the last seven minutes of play.

Paris Bennett tried to come through, scoring five of his seven points in the last 61 seconds, but with seniors Morrison, Pearson, and Andre Cornelius out of the game on fouls, the double-digit deficit held.

The success of Mason’s second-half play, outscoring VCU 50-46, made the team regret the first-half turnovers even more.

“In the second half we handled it a little better,” Pearson said. “We only had six turnovers in the second half. We were down so much. We just kept clawing back. We can’t give up. I like the heart that my team showed.”

With the loss, the Patriots will play at 8:30 p.m. on Mar. 3 in their quarterfinal matchup against the winner of the Georgia State-Hofstra first round game. With a win, they would play on Mar. 4 at 4:30 p.m. in anticipation for Monday’s championship game. If Mason and VCU both win their quarterfinal matchups, they will meet in the semifinal round next Sunday.

“We always talk about [how] we might play these guys again,” said VCU Coach Shaka Smart. “But like you said, one game at a time. We’ll have a tough opponent on Saturday, and so does Mason.”