After Mason's 62-55 victory against GW last weekend, Otis Livingston II and his dad, Otis Livingston I, stood in EagleBank Arena, discussing the game when the point guard was asked how his body was feeling.

  The boiled-down answer: not too bad for this time of year.

  Both Livingstons mentioned freshman Jamal Hartwell II, the Patriots' back-up point guard, who has been an increasingly effective player, allowing Livingston II, the school's career leader in games started with 120, to get some in-game breathers.

  "He's been a big help," said the younger Livingston.

   Hartwell II and his two classmates, Jordan Miller and Jason Douglas-Stanley, are earning more playing time and making more contributions for the Patriots (13-8, 7-1) who play at VCU (14-6, 5-2) Saturday at 6:30 p.m. after the Patriot's mid-week bye.

   "The freshmen are bringing it in games and bringing it in practice," said Mason coach Dave Paulsen. "They've made everybody better."

   They've risen to the occasion when foot injuries sidelined two starters, Goanar Mar and Jaire Grayer. Thanks in part to the Division I rookies providing quality depth, Mason is 9-2 since Dec.7 and off to its best-ever start in the A-10.

   Miller has gone from a possible redshirt to a starter, averaging 7.8 ppg and 3.0 rpg over his five-game college career. 

   "It's a lot for Jordan to go from not playing to what he's doing now," Paulsen said. "I've challenged him. He's had a great week of practice."   

  Hartwell II has played in 21 games, averaging 1.5 ppg. The team values his minutes (8.1 per game) and 16:3 assist to turnover ratio.

    Because of Hartwell's effectiveness, Livingston's minutes have been cut back from last year's 36.3 to 33.2. Paulsen figures that's saving Livingston II's legs and body a couple of games worth of pounding.

   "That's a big deal," the coach said. "Now I hope this continues: We've been stronger down the stretch than a lot of teams we play because of the depth we've built up."

   Douglas-Stanley, averaging 2.2 ppg in 13 appearances, is a sniper who can provide instant offense with his long-range shooting has earned increasing time because of his defensive improvement.

   "Jason is now really embracing the extra work – after practice shooting – and defense," said Paulsen as Douglas-Stanley was taking extra shots after a recent practice. "When he goes in there now, I have a comfort level defensively that he's going to be solid. That gives him a chance to play five, six, seven more minutes with a chance to add time with jump shots."

   With no weekday game this past week, the Patriots took off Wednesday and hit the reset button.

   "One thing we told our whole team is you can either listen to your body or talk to your body," Paulsen said. "Everyone in the country is a little tired right now. The teams that talk to their bodies are the teams that are going to get separation. The teams that listen to their bodies are going to be the ones that don't get over the hump."