Just wrapping up work here in Fairfax after George Mason’s 58-52 defeat of Georgia State, and make no mistake, the four-guard set I mentioned in the post at the buzzer made a huge difference.
Mason guard Cam Long started beaming when I mentioned the decision. Making the tweak more interesting was coach Jim Larranaga’s reaction to a question I asked about how often the Patriots had actually gone with four guards this season.
SEE RELATED:
“This season? Let me think,” Larranaga said before a brief pause. “Uh, this was the first time.”
Interesting stuff indeed for the Patriots (10-3, 3-0 CAA), who will share the league lead when the night comes to a close since Northeastern is flat-out blitzing Hofstra tonight.
Anyway, here’s the plus-minus for the night. Mason went 10 deep in the first half, just eight-deep after the break. For much of the final 7:51 – as in all but about the final 13 seconds – it was Long, John Vaughan, Dre Smith, Andre Cornelius and Darryl Monroe.
| Player |
1st half
|
2nd half
|
+/- |
Min. |
| 1-Smith |
-4 |
+1 |
-3 |
30 |
| 2-Cornelius |
+9 |
+3 |
+12 |
26 |
| 13-Tate |
+8 |
DNP |
+8 |
3 |
| 20-Long |
+7 |
+2 |
+9 |
35 |
| 22-Morrison |
+5 |
-3 |
+2 |
10 |
| 23-Vaughan |
-2 |
+2 |
0 |
33 |
| 24-Pearson |
+7 |
-2 |
+5 |
12 |
| 32-Monroe |
+1 |
+3 |
+4 |
31 |
| 33-Birdsong |
-1 |
-6 |
-7 |
18 |
| 40-Fleming |
0 |
DNP |
0 |
2 |
–
Patrick Stevens
