Sophomore sparks late rally against Hofstra
As bad shooting has spread through the George Mason backcourt like an epidemic, one player has remained immune, sophomore Sherrod Wright.
Wednesday night with the Patriots struggling at home against one of the worst teams in the CAA, Wright and an unlikely hero, freshman Corey Edwards, rallied Mason to a 72-62 victory over Hofstra before 4,343.
GMU trailed 56-54 when coach Paul Hewitt called timeout with 5 minutes, 32 seconds left. The Patriots followed with a 16-4 run as Wright (12 points) scored half the points, all off assists from Edwards, who also added a pair of field goals.
On a night when GMU (20-6, 12-2 CAA) remained tied for first place in the CAA, senior forwards Ryan Pearson (16 points, two rebounds) and Mike Morrison (10 points, two rebounds) combined to hit 10 of 14 shots, but struggled on the boards. Wright supplied power there too, contributing a team-high seven rebounds.
His biggest play came out of the Hewitt timeout as he ran off screens set by Pearson and sophomore Paris Bennett, received a pass from Edwards, and drained a three-pointer to give Mason the lead for good, 57-56.
“I was taking the shots they were giving me,” Wright said. “It was the same mentality I had all game.”
The next time down the floor, Wright scored a layup on a fast-break feed from Edwards. Later, with six seconds left on the shot clock and Edwards inbounding, Wright took a lob pass in the lane and scored as he was fouled. He completed the three-point play for a 67-60 lead with 1:39 left.
It was another good night for Wright, who was replaced in the starting lineup a month ago by Ryan Cornelius. In 10 games off the bench, Wright has hit 55.4 percent of his shots and averaged 10.5 points per game. In the previous 10 games as a starter, Wright hit 38.9 percent and averaged 6.4 points.
“I’m comfortable both ways,” Wright said.
The play of Edwards (seven points, seven assists) was a revelation as well as he got his carrer-high in helpers in just 16 minutes of work.
Hofstra (8-18, 2-12) stayed with Mason most of the way behind 6-5 senior wings Mike Moore (18 points) and Nathaniel Lester (14 points, five rebounds). In a physical game with little flow, neither team led by more than six points until the closing minutes.
Hofstra was the aggressor, taking advantage of Mason’s propensity to back away from a physical challenge. At halftime, Hewitt said he urged his team to play with more purpose.
“That’s when you realize they’re not afraid of us,” Hewitt said. “Sometimes you gotta make a physical stand. Again, nothing dirty, nothing emotional, nothing like that. You gotta set that screen and mean it. You gotta box out.”
Mason will try to find the edge Saturday night at UNC Wilmington. On Tuesday, VCU (21-5, 12-2), one of two teams tied with Mason at the top of the CAA, comes to the Patriot Center.
