Patriots could be facing rivals in the semifinals
Ryan Pearson has accomplished plenty in his four seasons at George Mason, topped off Thursday night with the CAA player of the year award. But there’s one matter of unfinished business for the forward from Far Rockaway, N.Y.
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He has never won the conference tournament.
In each of the last three years at Richmond Coliseum, George Mason has lost to Virginia Commonwealth. At least none was a heartbreaker. Each was decided by at least 15
points.
In an effort to change the Patriots’ luck, Pearson has cropped his hair and beard close. Call it “Extreme Makeover: CAA Tournament Edition.”
“The beard was good to me all season long,” said Pearson, the subject of George Mason’s Fear the Beard T-shirt campaign. “I shaved it down a little bit, just tried to motivate myself a little more, just to do something different for the tournament.”
A change of mojo is needed as GMU (23-8) enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, on a collision course with nemesis and second seeded VCU (25-6) in Sunday’s semifinals. Both have to win Saturday
night to make the matchup a reality.
The Patriots will face the winner of Friday’s game between No. 6 Georgia State (20-10) and No. 11 Hofstra (10-21). The Rams will play No. 7 Northeastern (13-16) or No. 10 William & Mary (6-25).
“We gotta worry about that first game,” George Mason coach Paul Hewitt said. “We played Hofstra a close game at their place, and we played Georgia State a close game here. Either one will be a big-time challenge.”
But it’s the anticipated semifinal that intrigues. If the top seeds win, George Mason will battle an avalanche of history Sunday. The Patriots have won their last nine CAA tournament games against teams other than VCU but have gone 0-5 against the Rams.
Before the University of Richmond left the conference in 2001, GMU had just as much misfortune against the Spiders, going 0-5 against them after the tournament was moved to the Coliseum in 1990.
“I wasn’t here for any of that,” Hewitt said with a smile.
But seniors Pearson, Mike Morrison and Andre Cornelius have plenty of horror stories in the River City. As if they needed a fresh reminder, another came in Saturday’s season finale, an 89-77 loss at VCU’s Siegel Center.
“We played scared,” Hewitt said. “We didn’t play with a lot of courage.”
In a physical, high-intensity practice Thursday morning, Hewitt barked commands as the Patriots worked on breaking fullcourt pressure.
“Elbows high and wide, extra big with your elbows,” Hewitt repeatedly yelled, urging players to establish more room upon receipt of the ball.
With potential matchups with the three best defensive teams in the conference — Georgia State, VCU and No. 1 Drexel (25-5)—GMU appears intent on answering in kind.
“We have to attack their pressure, don’t shy away fromit,” sophomore SherrodWright said. “We’ve established that we’re the best offensive team. I feel like our defense hasn’t been the same.”
According to Pearson, it’s incumbent upon him and his classmates to provide leadership, especially if the Patriots encounter the elements that have vexed them in the past—the building, the fans, the defensive pressure and, most of all, the Rams.
“They had that home cooking going, and they came for blood,” Pearson said of last week’s game. “A lot of guys put their head down early. We kind of turned our backs on each other. That’s on me, Mike and Andre.We gotta be the leaders of this team.”
