Nov. 12, 2009
The George Mason basketball teams will get their seasons started on Friday evening as the women's team hosts Norfolk State and the men's team hosts Liberty at Patriot Center. The women's game begins at 5 p.m. while the men's game begins at approximately 7:30 p.m. There will be a break of at least 30 minutes between contests with the second game starting no earlier than 7:30. The men's contest will be broadcast on WWRC 1260 AM.
Six players will suit up for the women's team for the first time against Norfolk State, a team that went 1-27 in 2008-09. The Spartans averaged 55.4 points per game last year while shooting 33.1 percent from the field. The opposition posted 80 points per game while shooting nearly 45 percent from the field.
Mason returns three of its top five scorers from last year's 4-26 team that averaged 52.5 points while shooting 34 percent from the floor. The Patriots' defense was better than Norfolk State's limiting opponents to 66.5 points and 41.6 percent shooting. Brittany Poindexter scored 10.1 points while grabbing 5.5 rebounds while Brittany Eley scored 9.1 points and Rashauna Hobbs averaged 6.4 points. Among the newcomers are redshirt juniors Ashleigh Braxton and Angelee LaTouche, who sat out the 2008-09 campaign after transferring to Mason.
The men's team will debut seven first-year players against Liberty, a team that beat Mason 69-66 in overtime last year. The Flames were 23-12 last season and played in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament where they lost to James Madison. But the Flames lost Seth Curry to transfer after the freshman averaged 20.2 points per game, and Anthony Smith, who averaged 17.6 points per game with 6.5 rebounds.
Mason returns Cam Long, who led the team in scoring, assists, steals and 3-point shooting percentage in 2008-09, when Mason went 22-11 and lost in overtime at Penn State to the eventual N.I.T. champions. Mason did, however lose John Vaughan and Darryl Monroe, a pair of all-CAA performers, as well as Dre Smith, who was fourth on the team in scoring. They are being replaced by a sophomore class that contributed heavily last season as well as a freshman class that ESPN.com labeled the top non-BCS recruiting class in the nation.
The doubleheader is being featured as Broadside's Game of the Week, with the first 500 Mason students receiving a free green Mason visor by showing their student ID. All Mason students receive free admission with valid Mason student ID, and tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for youth 18 and under, which includes admission to both games.
