Nov. 21, 2008

Greenville, N.C. - The George Mason men's basketball team will take the court on Saturday afternoon at East Carolina as the Patriots will try to rebound from their first loss of the season as they face the Pirates in a 4:30 p.m. contest that will be broadcast on ESPN 980.

Mason (2-1) lost at Hampton on Thursday night as the offense never found its rhythm. The Patriots will be motivated to avoid their second straight loss but adding a little fuel to the fire will be a desire to avenge a loss suffered last year in the BB&T Classic when the Patriots lost by three to ECU at Verizon Center.

Darryl Monroe continues to average a double-double for the Patriots but he has been the only consistent scorer for the Patriots. Five players have scored in double figures in a game this year only to not repeat the performance in the other two games. Only John Vaughan has joined Monroe in scoring in double figures multiple times. Mason has score 80 or more points twice but the perimeter game has not yet clicked as Mason is shooting just .268 from 3-point range.

One area that has not been lacking in a single contest has been the work on the boards. In three games, Mason is outrebounding the opposition by 10 boards per game. Mason is averaging more than 41 rebounds per game and 16 offensive rebounds per contest.

East Carolina has played three games but only one has been against a Division I opponent. James Legan and Sam Hinnant are both averaging 17.0 points per game or better while Brock Young and Chad Wynn are also averaging in double figures. The Pirates are averaging 83.7 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the field.