Jan. 22, 2010
The George Mason men's basketball team will travel to Towson on Saturday to take on the Tigers at 4 p.m. in a game televised on MASN and broadcast on WTNT 570 AM. The Patriots will look to remain in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association while avoiding their first-ever conference lost to Towson. The Patriots are 15-0 against the Tigers since they entered the CAA.
The Patriots enter the contest with a 12-7 overall record and a 7-1 CAA mark. MAson has won four straight games including two straight on the road. The Patriots will be looking for their 10th winning streak of five-or-more games since head coach Jim Larranaga took over at Mason 12-plus years ago.
Over the past three games, Cam Long has been outstanding for the Patriots. Last week against Georgia State, he scored 14 points with four rebounds, five assists and three steals. At James Madison, he tied his then-career high with 24 points including 10 of 12 from the free throw line. His last time out, at Hofstra, he scored 27 points with seven assists, both career highs. He was 9 of 11 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and he also had four rebounds a block and a steal.
In the longer term, over the past 10 games, Ryan Pearson has been the Patriots' top performer, averaging 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds, both team-highs. He has scored in double figures eight times and he also has 17 assists and 14 steals in those games. Mason is 8-2 in the past 10 games.
The Tigers (4-14, 1-7) have three players scoring in double figures led by Josh Thornton's 12.1 points per game. Calvin Lee is averaging 11.8 points and Robert Nwankwo is the only player in the CAA averaging a double-double, with 10.4 points and 10.3 rebounds. He's also shooting 56.1 percent from the field.
Both teams have had issues rebounding this season as Mason is 11th in the CAA in rebounding margin while Towson is 12th. In CAA games, Mason is third in scoring defense and second in field-goal offense and 3-point field-goal offense. Towson, meanwhile, is 12th in scoring defense in CAA games and 11th in field-goal offense and 3-point field-goal offense.
