Jan. 30, 2009
The George Mason men's basketball team has played 10 conference games this season but on Saturday, they face a new challenge when they travel to Norfolk. For the first time all year, the Patriots will face an opponent they've already battled as Mason beat Old Dominion, 61-53 on Jan. 10 in Fairfax. Mason (15-5, 8-2) is tied for second in the CAA while ODU (12-8, 5-5) is tied for sixth. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be televised on Comcast SportsNet and broadcast on Obama 1260.
The first meeting saw the Patriots limit the Monarchs to 38 percent shooting while holding a 36-30 edge on the boards and shooting 50 percent. But ODU had 15 offensive rebounds and forced 14 turnovers while only committing eight which led to 16 more shots. Those extra chances allowed the Monarchs to keep the game close. Darryl Monroe, a native of Virginia Beach, had 14 points and 14 rebounds on 5 of 6 shooting. Cam Long, Dre Smith and John Vaughan combined for 30 points. Vaughan, who missed the past two games after suffering a concussion late in last week's game at Northeastern, has been cleared medically for Saturday's game.
Ben Finney had 16 points and five assists, Gerald Lee had 15 points and six rebounds and Jonathan Adams had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the Monarchs. Lee has led ODU this season averaging 14.2 points while shooting 57.8 percent from the field. He is second in the CAA in field-goal percentage and 10th in scoring. Finney is second at 10.8 points and he leads the squad with 6.8 rebounds. He is seventh in the conference in rebounding. Darius James is averaging 7.8 points and 4.7 assists, fourth in the CAA. James also leads the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio, at 2.1.
As a team, the Monarchs are third in scoring defense and scoring margin and fourth in field-goal percentage. They also lead the league in rebounding margin at +6.8 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.2. Mason leads the league in scoring margin and stands second in scoring defense and fourth in scoring offense. The Patriots are second in the conference in both field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense, third in assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth in rebounding margin at +4.3.
Long leads the Patriots with 12.2 points, 3.7 assists, he's shooting 46.7 percent from the field and grabbing 4.7 rebounds. He is fifth in the CAA in field-goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio and 16th in scoring. Vaughan is averaging 11.6 points and is shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range. He is second in the CAA in 3-point shooting and sixth in field-goal percentage. Darryl Monroe is averaging 10.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and shooting 56.6 percent from the field. He is second in the CAA in rebounding and with enough attempts he would be third in the CAA in field-goal percentage.
Old Dominion holds a 31-14 edge in the all-time series but Mason has beaten ODU at least once each of the past 11 seasons, including this year. The Patriots have not won in Norfolk since Feb. 28, 2004, a 70-66 victory. The last time Mason swept the season series was 2001-02.
