 |
| [ PHOTO: GEORGE MASON ATHLETICS ] |
October 7, 2018
Peter Solari, Editor in Chief Follow @4PeteSakeNY
This was not the start Dave Paulsen and his George Mason men's basketball team were hoping for.
After being picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 (with some believing they'll finish even higher), the Patriots fell to Penn 72-71, in the closing seconds of their season opener at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA on Tuesday night.
Here's more from the AP:
A.J. Brodeur scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and his free throw with 20 seconds left to play allowed Pennsylvania to escape George Mason with a season-opening victory on Tuesday night at Fairfax, Va.
It was Penn's first victory over the Patriots in four meetings.
The defending Ivy League champions trailed most of the way but cut the deficit to a single point twice down the stretch. Antonio Woods hit a jumper and got to the basket for a layup to get within one, 64-63 with 5:01 left. His layup with 3:07 left got the Quakers within one again and Brodeur put them ahead with a layup with 2:17 to play. Woods tied it a 71-71 with a minute to go and Brodeur hit the second of two free throws for the win.
After falling behind early, the Patriots finally appeared to hit their stride in the latter part of the first half, and even took a 4-point lead into the break. However, Paulsen's group was unable to sustain that effort for a full 40-minutes.
From Steven Goff at The Washington Post:
The Quakers shot 71 percent in the second half (17 of 24) and 54 percent overall, compensating for 6-for-18 free throw accuracy and the loss of their best player, Ryan Betley, who suffered a serious knee injury less than five minutes into the game.
“We took shots in the first half that we never take in practice,” Patriots Coach Dave Paulsen said. "We made defensive blunders in the second half that we never make in practice.
“When adversity hits, you have to get tighter with your culture, not go off on your own. When we played the way we practice, we were pretty good. But we probably did that for 24 or 25 of the 40 minutes.”
Junior Jarred Reuter, a UVA transfer, led the way for Mason with 15 points, while Justin Kier and Otis Livingston each contributed 12, with the former also grabbing eight boards in the losing effort. But none of that was enough, as offensive inconsistencies and blunders on both sides of the court, including 17 turnovers, did the Patriots in.
“Defense was the biggest thing,” said Livingston, a four-year starter, after the game. “I take a lot of that on me. Being a senior, I am supposed to set the tone. I didn’t do that. We were starting to get to them but we couldn’t sustain it.”
Make no mistake about it, Penn is no slouch! The Quakers represented the Ivy League in last Spring's NCAA Tournament, and return four starters from that team this season. So there's no denying that they're an experienced, veteran group. However, for a George Mason team that returns all of its starters as well, and is poised to take a big step in the Atlantic 10, this was a game they had to have. Especially at home.
The Patriots will return to action this Friday, November 9th, when they host former-Colonial Athletic Association foe, American, at 7 PM at EagleBank Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
