Patriots Fall Short Against Monarchs

Mason Shoots Well, Struggles on Defense: Old Dominion 73, George Mason 71

NORFOLK, Jan. 31 -- The George Mason Patriots enjoyed their second-finest shooting performance of the season Saturday night. They had a rebounding advantage and committed just nine turnovers. They weren't called for a foul for 12 minutes, overcame a nine-point deficit to take the lead and received a career-high 18 points from freshman Ryan Pearson.

But the Patriots' defense was unusually suspect, and in the final three minutes, despite poor free throw shooting by the Monarchs, they failed to make a big shot and dropped a 73-71 decision before a sold-out crowd of 8,424 at Constant Convocation Center.

After starting the Colonial Athletic Association schedule with seven straight victories, the Patriots (15-6, 8-3) have lost three of four to slip into a third-place tie with Drexel.

"You have to recognize you are going to be in those close games, and you have to be mentally tough to pull them out," said senior Dre Smith, who had 12 of his 14 points in the first half and missed consecutive three-point attempts late. "Tonight, we just didn't do enough to win the game."

The Patriots shot 61 percent in the first half and 58 percent overall, second to their 62 percent against UNC Wilmington on Jan. 3. But they allowed the Monarchs (13-8, 6-5) to make 22 of their first 32 attempts, trailed by three at halftime and by nine early in the second half before switching to a zone defense. ODU shot 57 percent, the highest by a Patriots' opponent this season.

"I was really, really disappointed in our defense," George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga said. "We ended up looking for a solution and thought we might have found one with the zone, but they still were able to be very effective."

Pearson's collection of spin moves helped trim the deficit to one, and Louis Birdsong's six-footer provided the lead with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The teams exchanged baskets, leaving the Patriots with a 69-68 advantage, but Pearson missed only his second shot of the game -- the beginning of a 1-for-6 performance by his team down the stretch.

ODU's Gerald Lee (23 points on 9-of-11 shooting) made two free throws and Frank Hassell scored inside for a 72-69 lead with 1 minute 30 seconds to go. After the second of Smith's misses, ODU's Marsharee Neely began an excruciating series of free throw attempts.

On consecutive possessions, he missed the first shot in a one-and-one situation. After the first miss, Pearson scored to pull the Patriots within one with 30 seconds left. After the second, George Mason's John Vaughan, back in the lineup after sitting out two games with a concussion, missed in the lane with nine seconds remaining.

"I saw the opening, got to the basket and should have made it," he said.

Larranaga thought Vaughan should have shot earlier, saying: "He is very good at shooting a pull-up jump shot right there, and if he did, he probably would have made that shot. Taking it kind of off-balance and in a hurry, he didn't get a great look at it."

Neely returned to the line with 4.7 seconds left, and after making the first, he missed the second. Cam Long (15 points) rushed the ball upcourt, passed up a potential game-winning three-pointer and missed a 15-footer that TV replays indicated was released after the buzzer.

· HOWARD 77, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 74: Paul Kirkpatrick hit Howard's only two field goals in overtime and gave the Bison the lead for good with a late slam dunk in a victory over the visiting Aggies (8-13, 2-5).

Kirkpatrick scored six of his eight points in overtime, sealing the win with two free throws after North Carolina A&T's Tavarus Alston missed a 30-footer with five seconds left.

Eugene Myatt and Kyle Riley added 16 points each for Howard (4-16, 3-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), which snapped a two-game losing streak.

· AMERICAN 78, LAFAYETTE 65: Brian Gilmore scored 22 points to lead the Eagles to a win over the visiting Leopards (6-15, 2-5).

Lafayette tied American (13-7, 5-1 Patriot League) 62-62 on Jeff Kari's three-pointer with just more than nine minutes remaining. But American responded with a 14-2 run.

· NAVY 75, COLGATE 64: Mark Veazey scored 17 points, all in the second half, and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Midshipmen to a victory over the Red Raiders (6-14, 2-5 Patriot League).

Chris Harris had 17 points for Navy(15-7, 4-3), and Kaleo Kina added 15.