Feb. 13, 2009
The George Mason men's basketball team will take on Northeastern on Saturday at Noon at Patriot Center as part of Homecoming Weekend as the Patriots look to snap their second two-game losing streak of the season. That challenge will comes as the third-place Patriots take on the first-place Huskies in a critical Colonial Athletic Association clash. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet and broadcast on WTNT 570.
Mason (16-8, 9-5) lost at Delaware on Thursday night, a 66-58 defeat, Mason's worst loss of the year. The Patriots have lost eight games by a combined total of 31 points. The Huskies (16-8, 11-3)are coming off a home loss to Drexel, a 62-58 defeat that dropped Northeastern into a tie for first with VCU. Mason is tied with Drexel.
The Patriots got a career-high 27 points from Darryl Monroe the last time out and he continues to lead the CAA in field-goal percentage while standing second in rebounding. Cam Long and John Vaughan are each averaging more than 11 points per game and they are among the top 10 in the conference in field-goal percentage as well. Mason leads the CAA in field-goal percentage and is second in field-goal percentage defense. Mason is also second in scoring defense.
Northeastern leads the CAA in scoring defense and is fifth in field-goal percentage defense. The Huskies are fourth in field-goal offense but ninth in scoring offense. Matt Janning leads the Huskies with 15.3 points, fifth in the CAA. Manny Adako is the only other Northeastern player scoring in double figures at 11.2 points per game. His 56.7 percent shooting is second in the CAA behind Monroe.
The Patriots and Huskies met one other time this year, on Jan. 21 in Boston. The Patriots rallied late after Vaughan suffered a concussion and was taken off the court on a stretcher. Mason took a last-minute lead only to see Northeastern score in the closing seconds and take a 58-57 win over Mason.
Prior to the game, there will be a Homecoming Block Party in Lot A beginning at 9:30 a.m. The game is sponsored by the U.S. Army and the first 1,500 fans will receive a replica CAA Championship Ring courtesy of The Meltzer Group. All youth in attendance can take part in the post game free throw shoot and autograph session with select Mason players.
