Patriots Down Dukes in Foul-Littered Matchup
January 15, 2012 · 0 Comments
Photo Credit: Craig Bisacre
by Cody Norman
Mason 89, James Madison 83
HARRISONBURG, VA – It was long. And it was ugly.
But freshman Vaughn Gray put together a spectacular 19-point performance, the best of his young college career, bring light to an otherwise dull night in Harrisonburg. Gray shot 4-for-6 from the field and knocked down 8-of-10 free throws, snagging three rebounds and canning three long-range attempts.
The young guard stepped to the line with under a minute remaining, the Patriots watching a 24-point lead crumble before their eyes, and canned two clutch free throws to seal the deal.
“He’s been practicing very well,” Sherrod Wright said. “We’ve been telling him to shoot it; he’s a shooter. We always knew he’d come along one of these days and today was his day.”
Mason and James Madison dragged out a physical CAA battle in what was a foul-littered, conference record setting 63-foul performance. The Patriots stepped to the free throw line 48 times, finishing the night shooting at a 68.8 percent clip.
“The game took a very long time,” Ryan Pearson said. “There was a lot of fouls called, so that was out of our hands. But I think it was a very physical game.”
Postgame Press Conference — Paul Hewitt, Sherrod Wright, Mike Morrison
Postgame Press Conference — James Madison Athletics
Gallery — Mason 89, James Madison 83
In the midst of a midseason slump, Sherrod Wright came off the bench for the second straight game and contributed one of his best performances of the season. He was 6-for-9 from the field, scoring 15 points and snatching down six rebounds.
“It felt good,” Wright said. “I’ve been practicing hard and playing hard, so I knew that it would come along soon. I was real into the game and I know that once I pick my defense up, everything else will come.”
After the Patriots saw their record-setting 18-game conference winning streak broken at Drexel, a game in which leading scorer Ryan Pearson added just four points, Pearson willed his way to a 19-point effort, grabbing seven rebounds in a physical front court battle.
“Obviously, that was a tough loss against Drexel,” Hewitt said. “It was nice to come out here and pick up a road win. That’s always big.”
With their conference win streak restarted at one, the Patriots will return to Fairfax on Wednesday to kick off their three-game home stand against Delaware.
