Starters’ struggles part of demise vs. Delaware On Thursday afternoon, George Mason athletic director Tom O’Connor watched intently as a crane in the middle of Patriot Center lifted a new scoreboard into place. The improved structure will register individual points and personal fouls, making its debut Saturday when George Mason plays Old Dominion.
The Patriots hope to register more on the scoreboard than they did Wednesday at Delaware in a 65-60 loss. With its guards hitting only four of 26 shots and failing to make a 3-pointer in six attempts, GMU (18-6, 10-2) fell into a four-way tie for first place in the CAA.
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| Up next |
| Old Dominion at George Mason |
| When » Saturday, 5 p.m. |
| Where » Patriot Center |
| TV » ESPNU |
As the season reaches critical mass, three of the Patriots’ remaining eight games come against teams with whom they are tied, including two against VCU.
The regular-season title will be decided over the next three weeks among GMU, VCU (19-5, 10-2), Drexel (18-5, 10-2) and ODU (15-9, 10-2). All are virtual locks for the four byes in the opening round of the CAA tournament, but the Patriots still want the top seed.
“It’s always a goal to win the regular-season title. It’s very important to us,” senior forward Mike Morrison said. “We want to be first and put ourselves in the best position. We haven’t won the conference championship in some time.”
To do that, the Patriots must fix their suddenly crooked-shooting backcourt. Over the last four games, GMU’s guards have shot 34.1 overall and 24.4 from beyond the arc. All of the starting guards have gone cold. Senior Andre Cornelius has made only seven of his last 23 shots (30.4 percent). Sophomore Vertrail Vaughns has made only seven of his last 33 (21.2 percent). And Bryon Allen has hit six of 24 (25 percent).
Ironically, the only GMU guard shooting well lately is sophomore Sherrod Wright, who has hit 29 of his last 51 shots (56.9 percent). The surge corresponded with his demotion from the starting lineup in favor of Cornelius.
George Mason has been lucky that its shooting woes came during a schedule lull. The Patriots’ last seven games have come against teams with losing records. The loss to Delaware was the first during that stretch.
GMU coach Paul Hewitt didn’t sound concerned before practice Thursday.
“One thing I know about basketball is when the shot goes in, no matter how well you’re playing, it looks good,” Hewitt said. “When the shot doesn’t go in, no matter how well you’re playing, it doesn’t look good.”
Saturday’s homecoming game is sold out. ODU has won eight of its last nine since a 63-54 loss at home to George Mason on Jan. 5. The Monarchs often have struggled in Fairfax, losing the last four trips by an average of 18.5 points.
“We’re going to have a great atmosphere. Bringing energy is not going to be a problem that day,” Morrison said. “But we gotta step in there and take care of business.”
And make a few shots.
