Patriots Earn Convincing Victory Over Delaware

January 18, 2012   ·   2 Comments

by Cody Norman

Mason 89, Delaware 63

Photo Credit: Craig Bisacre

Welcome to Fairfax, the home of the George Mason Country Club.

The Patriots have a reputation across the Colonial Athletic Association as the finesse team. Their scouting report says that you can get under their skin, punch them in the mouth and they’ll sit back and take it.

After all, this is Fairfax, Va., one of the wealthiest cities in the United States.

But, since the arrival of Paul Hewitt, Mason has gotten tougher. They’ve gotten meaner, more tenacious and more inclined to punch than be punched.

“They say the scouting report on us is that we’re soft,” Morrison said. “They say you can push us around, you can punch us in the face and nothing will happen. But I know [Ryan Pearson] isn’t going to let that happen and I’m not either.”

Late in the second half, Morrison stood nose to nose with Delaware forward Hakim McCullar just minutes after McCullar shoved him to the hardwood on the opposite end of the floor. Both players were assessed technical fouls but that moment was the epitome of Morrison’s growth this season.

“When you have confidence you score,” Morrison said. “Coach [Roland] Houston is a great big man coach and he’s done a great job of instilling that confidence in me.”

Since the turn of the new year, Morrison has averaged almost 13 points a game, meanwhile snatching down better than seven rebounds a night. He’s been active defensively, recording 15 blocked shots in six games in 2012, and he’s solidified his role as a productive, vocal leader for the Patriots.

“He’s working,” Paul Hewitt said. “We’ve got his free throw shooting to improved, we’ve got everything improved.”

Postgame Press Conference – Paul Hewitt

Postgame Press Conference — Mike Morrison & Ryan Pearson

Gallery – Mason 89, Delaware 63

Again on Wednesday night, Morrison accepted the challenge of going head-to-head with the nation’s fourth best rebounder, Jamelle Hagins, and dominated the matchup. He scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds compared to just 10 points and six rebounds from Hagins.

He showed off a variety of newly developed post moves and made his presence felt on defense, swatting two early shot attempts by Hagins and throwing the junior forward off of his game early in the first half.

Alongside Morrison, senior Ryan Pearson put together another outstanding 24-point performance, recording 10 rebounds in his seventh double-double of the season. Pearson, too, was active on defense, swatting two shots and picking up four steals in the win.

“We’re just trying to enjoy our last year together,” Morrison said. “When one of us is screaming, we’re both screaming.”

Morrison and Pearson started the game off with a bang, leading the charge as Mason surged ahead to a 10-2 lead. Both productively and emotionally, the two seniors shined as they did not allow the Blue Hens to claw back and helped the Patriots maintain a steady lead throughout the game.

“We came out strong on defense, we came out fired up,” Pearson said. “That got us some easy baskets.”

Vaughn Gray, a 6-foot-5-inch freshman from New Jersey who has been highly touted by Morrison since the beginning of the season, continued his hot streak and contributed another solid 7-point effort. He showed off two nifty moves around the basket offensively and was active defensively in his 15 minutes of play.

“Ya’ll doubted me early,” Morrison said. “But I told ya’ll, Vaughn is the future of this program. That’s why we call him ‘Future.’ I’ve seen it in him all along.”

Since dropping their first conference game in more than a year to Drexel last week, the Patriots have unleashed a ferocious offensive attack on their opponents, scoring 89 points in each of their last two games.

They will face off against a winless Towson Tigers team on Saturday afternoon as Mason welcomes back students for the approaching Spring semester.