The Price is Wright

February 15, 2012   ·   2 Comments

Mason 62, VCU 61

Photo Credit: Stephen Kline

Paul Hewitt roamed the campus buildings on Monday morning, making stops at Southside and the Johnson Center to extend a personal invitation to the Patriots’ Valentine’s Day matchup with the VCU Rams.

He showed clips of the New England Patriots tight end Ben Watson finishing a play against the Denver Broncos, forcing Champ Bailey to fumble the football and keeping the Patriots in position to pick up a victory.

“We kept telling them, ‘This is the type of game it’s going to be,’” Hewitt said. “Just play to the end and see if something good happens.”

Still, none of the unconventional tricks that Hewitt had up his sleeves could have prepared the Mason Nation for the rivalry game that would unfold on Tuesday night.

With 3.8 seconds left on the clock, Sherrod Wright caught the inbound pass from Ryan Pearson, took three dribbles up the floor and launched a 25-foot prayer that slapped the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded.

“I made the shot of my dreams,” Wright said. “Everybody dreams about making a big time shot to get a big win against your rivals. And my dream came true today.”

While the referees conferred, making sure Wright got the ball off in time, students, fans, professors and players all joined in on exciting celebration.

“I knew I let it go in plenty of time,” Wright said.

Hewitt added: “When Sherrod went up, I was just focused on his face. And he looked like, ‘Hey, I’m here. This is an opportunity. He was confident. He looked like he shot the ball like he meant it.”

Postgame Press Conference – Paul Hewitt

Postgame Press Conference – Sherrod Wright & Ryan Pearson

Photo Gallery – Mason 62, VCU 61

He and his teammates, again, paraded up and down the stairs of the student section, slapping hands with the same crowd that willed them to a one-point victory over their arch-rivals.

“This is the best Valentine’s Day I’ve had in a long time,” Hewitt said.

Continuing his strong play off the bench for the Patriots, Wright finished the game with 11 points and five rebounds.

In the final one minute of play, Mason and VCU combined for a total of 18 points. Pearson, Vertrail Vaughns and Vaughn Gray all knocked down big shots, keying the 25-foot prayer by Wright.

“We’re a good team,” Hewitt said. “They picked up those guys that made a couple mistakes and we got a real important win there moving forward.”

Posting yet another double-double for the first-place Patriots, Pearson added to his Player of the Year resume, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds on a night when the referees let both teams battle in the interior.

“I’ve been saying all year that Ryan is the best player in our league,” Hewitt said. “And he played like it again tonight.”

Vaughns broke out of what had been a midseason shooting slump, knocking down 4-of-7 3-point attempts in a big 14-point effort for the Patriots. Bryon Allen added five points and five assists on the night.

Holding onto their first-place spot in the conference, the Patriots will take on Lamar in their ESPN BracketBuster game on Saturday evening in the Patriot Center.

The second volume of Courtside Seats the magazine will be distributed at each exit after the final horn.