For Mason, a nice rebound

FAIRFAX -- After a sobering 27-point loss at Radford Wednesday, when George Mason gave up an 18-point advantage around the basket, facing Colonial Athletic Association preseason Co-Player of the Year Gerald Lee seemed like a daunting task with which to open the 2010 portion of the men's basketball campaign Saturday afternoon.

Turns out that may have been just what the Patriots needed following that loss.

Looking to redeem itself from the embarrassing performance against Highlanders' center Art Parakhouski, the Mason defense focused on taking Lee out of the game and giving the rest of the Old Dominion frontcourt players no room under the hoop, resulting in a 71-55 Patriots win in front of a season-high 8,629 in attendance.

Lee scored a game-high 17 points -- just six came in the first half -- but he was the only Monarchs player to reach double figures.

"We really played as a team today. We helped each other," said Mike Morrison, a 6-foot-9 sophomore who finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds. "There were times where I lost my man and people stepped up and we played as a team."

"You know, for the first time this year, on a post-feed over the top we got two players to the post receiver and trapped him," Mason head coach Jim Larranaga said of his team's defensive effort in the paint. "We even got a turnover out of it -- that's the first one of the year."

While the Patriots eliminated the Monarchs' close opportunities, ODU struggled from behind the 3-point line, further frustrating Blaine Taylor's club.

"They played with a lot of energy and were very physical," Taylor said. "The ball was going in for them and it wasn't for us. We had a few plays where the whistle doesn't blow and they dunk. Those four- and five-point swings frustrated our guys a little bit because we wanted to play a good game and have it go down to the wire."

"We had some stupid turnovers at the offensive end and they got fast breaks," Lee said. "They played harder than us today. I didn't see the Radford game, but today they were playing real hard and made it hard for us all game."

The first half played out like Taylor's group preferred, ending with Mason up 31-28 after Luke Hancock made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on a feed from junior point guard Cam Long.

"Everybody wants to be ahead at halftime," said Long, who had eight points and four assists. "With a buzzer-beater and it bouncing around on the rim, it just freezes everybody up. As soon as it dropped, it just [gave] everybody a lot of energy and the crowd goes crazy."

Long, a Freedom High School grad, said he talked with the team in a players' meeting following the Radford loss and told the team what he expected from that point on.

"I told them this is a new year and we have to start over," he said. "We had a couple meetings, but they weren't based on anything Coach L said. It was more of a player meeting where I just called it out to communicate to the players. I told them we're going to [meet] before every practice from now on."

At times offensively the Patriots (7-6, 2-0 CAA) looked like they kept much of the game plan from the fast-paced, high-scoring Virginia Military Institute game, pressuring the Monarchs at every opportunity and forcing 12 turnovers. That pressure contributed to 14 fast-break points.

Mason's 71 points is the most Old Dominion (9-5, 1-1) has allowed this year, as is the Patriots' 52.8 field goal percentage. The Monarchs, who beat then-No. 11 Georgetown earlier in the season, have held opponents to just under 38 percent from the floor this year.

"Our defense led to the fast breaks," said Morrison, who had two blocks. "We'd get a rebound and our guards were running up the court real quick."

"I told our guys they [Mason] didn't score on our defense, they scored on our offense," Taylor said. "A couple of them looked at me funny, but my point is, take Lee's shot that back-irons and they end up dunking while we're not back on defense. Had we scored some more baskets in the second half, I think we could have gotten our defense set."

Staff writer Joe Conroy may be reached at 703-878-8047.