TOWSON, Md. - Keep your ticket
stub! A ticket to the football game on Saturday will also get you free
entry to the Towson Center as the Tiger men's basketball team (0-6) entertains George Mason
(5-2) at 7:30 p.m.
The Patriots, now
coached by former Georgia Tech head man Paul Hewitt, is a very talented
team in a bit of transition as Jim Larranaga left for the University of Miami in
the offseason. Larranaga's team went 16-2 in the CAA last season,
including a 16-game win streak, while going 27-7 overall.
George Mason returns three starters, but one of them, senior guard
Andre Cornelius (9.5 points per game) was suspended for the first 10 games. So, Mason
is a little younger in the early goings, but still dangerous.
The Patriots opened splitting their first two games (which went overtime),
defeating Rhode Island at home, 92-90 and losing to Florida International at the
NIT Season Tip-off in Blacksburg, Va. They followed that loss with an
easy win over Monmouth, 71-39, at the same tournament.
On Nov. 19, the Patriots fell at Florida Atlantic, 80-75, in
overtime. But since that loss, the Patriots have won three straight,
defeating Brown by 26, Albany by 20 and Bucknell by four on Wednesday
night.
Towson hasn't had much success against the Patriots. In 1993, then
a member of the Big South, the Tigers defeated George Mason, 78-71, at home. But
since then, GMU has won 17 straight in the series.
George Mason, as usual, defends as well as any team in the CAA.
The Patriots allow just 62.7 points per game and allows opponents to shoot just 37% from the field
and 24% from beyond the arc. They also force 15 turnovers per game and are
outrebounding teams by an average of three rebounds per game.
Senior forward Ryan Pearson (6-6, 237) is an extremely dangerous
player because he can take taller players to the basket or devour
smaller players in the paint. Pearson leads the Patriots by scoring 20.6 points per game with 8.6 rebounds per outing while shooting 56% from the
floor. He can shoot the three-point shot (6-18) and converts 76% of his free
throws.
Senior Mike Morrison (6-9, 237) is one of the league's top
defensive players. He averages 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51%
from the field. Like Robert Nwankwo, Morrison protects the basket but
struggles to make free throws (46%, 11-24).
The Patriots go with three guards led by redshirt sophomore
Sherrod Wright (6-4, 196). Wright is coming off a shoulder injury that
caused him to miss last year. He is second on the team in scoring with a 12.2 average while shooting a blazing 62% from the field and 39% (5-13)
from beyond the arc.
Redshirt sophomore Vertrail Vaughns (6-2, 184) is third in scoring with an 11.9 average while shooting 41% from the field and 38% (12-32) from
three-point range. He's a lefty with a quick release who can score in
bunches.
At the point, sophomore Byron Allen (6-3, 214) is a powerful
guard who averages 7.4 points per game and leads the team with 25 assists in seven
games. He shoots 44% from the field, but is just 2-of-16 from the
three-point line.
The Patriots are pretty deep on the bench, especially in the post,
led by big sophomore Jonathan Alredge (6-8, 228), who averages 4.6
points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 40% from the field. Freshman Erik Copes
(6-8, 244) is one of the most heralded freshman in the conference from
Philadelphia. Copes averages 4.6 points and 5.1 rebounds and has 15 blocks this season.
Freshman Corey Edwards (5-11, 177) is another talented freshman
who averages 3.5 points per game and leads the team with 15 steals while averaging
21.5 minutes per game off the bench. Edwards, who also has two starts, shoots 37%
from the field but his strength is running the point and dishing out
assists (19).
The George Mason/Towson game will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570 and
on Towsontigers.com. I'll also be blogging during the game right after
the Lehigh playoff football game.
