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Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team fell for the first time in nearly a month, losing in a 61-57 decision to the Georgia State Panthers last Wednesday. Mason (15-8, 10-2), winners of seven straight, had its road winning streak end at three games, while the Panthers (10-14, 4-8) evened up the season series.

Sophomore forward Ryan Pearson led the Patriots with 13 points and eight rebounds, and freshman forward Luke Hancock added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. But the team could not contain Panthers’ reserve player Jihad Ali, who scored a game-high 22 points to surpass his previous high of 12 points. Ali hit the eventual game-winner, a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to give the Panthers a 58-57 lead.

Mason was in control in the first half, leading by as much as seven points. Junior guard Isaiah Tate nailed two 3-pointers leading to his eight first-half points. The Patriots went into the half with a 27-22 lead, but both offenses had a sluggish start in the first 20 minutes.

The Panthers shot just 29.6 percent from the field but Mason was not any better, shooting 34.5 percent.

In the second half, the Panthers clawed back from a five-point deficit to take a 39-36 lead at the 12-minute mark. From there, both teams traded baskets with neither team leading by more than four points.

But with less than three minutes left, sophomore forward Mike
Morrison scored a layup to give Mason a 57-53 lead. After two free throws from Panthers’ Joe Dukes cut the lead in half, Ali sank a 3-pointer from the corner, Ousman Krubally extended the Panthers’ lead with two free throws, and Dukes put the game away with a free throw in the closing seconds.

The loss drops Mason into a three-way tie with the Old Dominion Monarchs and Northeastern Huskies in the Colonial Athletic Association standings. The Patriots pulled to .500 on the road after winning the previous three games.

Last January, the Patriots held off the Panthers’ bid for an upset at the Patriot Center. This time around, Mason was unable to escape a crucial road game, especially when its leading scorer was held in check. Coming off of several 20-point games, junior guard Cam Long missed eight of his nine shots and scored just two points. Both teams shot for over 50 percent in the second half, but in the end, the Panthers had the advantage in going to the line more.

The Patriots traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons last Saturday.

Last week, the Patriots hosted the VCU Rams in a highly anticipated match between the two rivals, and on Saturday, Mason looked to reclaim its lead in the conference as the team battles the Monarchs in Norfolk.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

I’ll admit. I was a bit perturbed after watching the clock wind down with only one Mason point on the board. The Monarch fan laughing maniacally in my ear for the entire game did not help either.
A 16-point run at the beginning of the game was, needless to say, disconcerting.

The first half of the Old Dominion game got me thinking, “Why is it that when the Patriots travel to play a decent team, they seem to flounder on offense?”

I was reminded of the pitiful game at George Washington, but at least that loss did not count for a conference record.

“Guys, we’re playing George Mason, not Georgetown,” said an ODU fan sitting behind me at the game.

Have the Patriots really come to this? Mason was once in sole possession of the top spot in the conference, ahead of the Old Dominion team that subsequently handed Mason a terrible loss, sending them to third place.

I had high hopes for the team after seeing them do well, albeit losing, in the game against then-No. 5 Villanova in the ESPN Puerto Rico Challenge.

Because of this loss in Norfolk, Va., however, I find myself oddly reassured of my pre-season prediction for the team.

I went on “Sports Talk with Brian,” a GMU radio show that aired on a Tuesday afternoon near the beginning of the season and predicted that the Patriots would find themselves in the National Invitational Tournament, making it a round or two before their season-ending loss.

Here’s a more relevant prediction for who will finish where in the conference: No. 1 Old Dominion, No. 2 Northeastern, No. 3 George Mason, No. 4 VCU.

This would put Northeastern and Mason on the same side of the bracket, with Old Dominion and VCU on the other side. Assuming that the lower-ranked teams are taken care of, which may be a bit of a chore for whoever plays William & Mary, this would actually set up for a possible VCU-GMU championship game.

While the winner gets an automatic bid into the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, other Colonial Athletic Association teams will have to fight for one of the “at-large” spots.

Because of Mason’s inability to win against top-25 teams, with Old Dominion’s success against ranked teams and the streaks of other top CAA teams, Mason has relatively little chance of making the NCAA tournament.

At least that’s what I thought until Sunday night. Northeastern was taken down in a heart-pumping 53-52 loss at home, making them paired with Old Dominion for the first place spot in the conference, only one game ahead of Mason.

In addition, James Madison pulled out a last-minute win at home against the until-recently hot VCU. Madison gained only their fourth win in conference play, however the VCU loss is much more important for the conference.

William & Mary and Drexel are tied for fourth place, just a game behind Mason, with just a few games left in the weeks before the tournament, enough time for anything to happen.

With four games left in Mason’s schedule, and only three against conference teams, there is still time to find out what the seeds will be, setting up for another exciting CAA tournament, and subsequently the NCAA tournament.

Cody Norman, Staff Writer

The men’s basketball team carried a 17-game home conference winning streak back into the Patriot Center for another Colonial Athletic Association matchup with the VCU Rams on Tuesday night. Mason had dropped back-to-back games for the first time in 2010 while the Rams were one of the hottest teams in the CAA, winning eight of their previous nine contests.

The ESPNU crew was in attendance to broadcast the thrilling rivalry, former Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington sat courtside and the Patriot Center was packed with the most students in school history. Tuesday night’s game had all the makings of an unforgettable matchup, and it certainly lived up to all the hype.

The Patriots came out a little flat-footed in the first half and got beat to seemingly every loose ball. VCU capitalized on 22 points in the paint while connecting on 13 points off nine Mason turnovers.

VCU left the court at halftime with a comfortable 41-28 lead and appeared to have the Patriots right where they wanted them.
But Mason’s only senior, forward Louis Birdsong, gave his team a much needed lift as he scored five straight points highlighted by an impressive one-handed slam over VCU’s Larry Sanders with 16:37 remaining in the game. Sophomore forward Mike Morrison got in on the action, scoring eight of Mason’s next 14 points to trim the Rams’ lead to seven.

Birdsong gave Mason its first lead of the second half with just under four minutes to go, but the Rams immediately regained control and held a four-point lead with just 23 seconds to play. With his team down a pair and about 11 seconds remaining, junior Cam Long snatched the defensive rebound and took the ball the length of the floor before being fouled by Sanders. The foul sent Sanders to the bench and put Long on the line with a chance to tie the game. Long sank both attempts to knot the game at 69 and send the game into overtime.

After two big buckets by the Rams’ Joey Rodriguez, Morrison retied the game at 74. Freshman forward Luke Hancock scored on a pretty reverse left handed layup before sophomore forward Ryan Pearson’s and-one put the Patriots ahead by five and ultimately sealed the deal for the home team.

“You can see the impact effort has. You think you’re playing hard but then you turn it up a notch and realize ‘Wow, I’m playing harder than I did in the first half,’” said Head Coach Jim Larranaga, pleased with his team’s effort in the second half.

Long led the way with 19 points and five assists, and Morrison recorded an impressive 18-point and 10-rebound double-double performance in the winning effort. Birdsong was an efficient 5-of-6 from the floor for 13 points.

Rodriguez carried the Rams on his back for most of the second half and tallied 24 points and seven assists on the night. Sanders poured in 13 points, but the Rams’ big man was limited to just two in a second half that was plagued by foul troubles.

Cody Norman, Staff Writer

Since rattling off six wins in eight games to open up the 2009-10 campaign, the women’s basketball team has gone cold. Their offense has stammered as the Patriots have only topped the 60-point mark once in their last 11 outings and have notched an ugly 2-11 record.

Although they have played extremely well at home this season, notching an 8-4 record, the Patriots have recorded only one win against their conference opponents.

“We have somehow gotten so focused on the fact that we don’t hit shots that we’re not defending as well as I thought we had earlier in the season,” said Head Coach Jeri Porter of her team’s recent defensive woes. “I thought we were a good defensive basketball team and here in the last couple games, we just have not defended very well at all.”

In Thursday night’s Colonial Athletic Association matchup with the Hofstra Pride, the story continued.

Mason’s struggles at the offensive end transitioned to a poor defensive effort as the Patriots connected on just 13 of 51 shot attempts in its 72-39 loss to the Pride.

The Patriots made only five of its 26 shot attempts in the first half, but a solid 3-point shooting effort kept the game within reach.

Junior guard Ashleigh Braxton opened the game with a 3-pointer, and Mason held a 5-4 lead at the 16-minute mark. But the Pride would go on a 19-3 run in the next eight minutes to take a commanding 15-point lead before going into halftime with a 31-14 advantage.

Mason came out flat in the second half and allowed Hofstra to push their lead to 40 points with a 1:41 left in the second half. The Pride coasted to an impressive victory, making 60 percent of its shots.

After shooting 56 percent in the first half, the Pride upped shooting to 64 percent in the second half, outscoring the Patriots 41-25.

Senior guard Rashauna Hobbs was the only Patriot to notch double-digit points as she scored 10 points while knocking down two 3-pointers. Freshman forward Amber Easter turned in a solid outing as she went for nine points and six rebounds.

“We’re a little tentative, a little passive with the offense right now because it’s been a challenge for us to put the ball in the basket all season. And I think that’s starting to affect the way we run our offense right now,” said Porter as she addressed the concerns of her struggling offense.

The Pride controlled the game from beginning to end. Nicole Capurso sank four long-range jumpers in an impressive 20-point performance and Jess Fuller followed up with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Candice Bellocchio played an excellent game from the point guard position and recorded 10 points and five assists in the winning effort.
Without a significant post presence, Mason was muscled around in the paint for much of the night and was outscored 38-12 in the key. The Pride outrebounded Mason on the boards, 39-24.

“One of our major weaknesses is that we don’t have a true back-to-the-basket post player,” said Porter. “We try to get high percentage shots by penetrating as opposed to making a lot of post entry passes. And [Hofstra] did a good job of taking that away. And we really didn’t do a good job reading that.”

The Patriots were originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. start against the Delaware Blue Hens in Newark, Del. on Sunday, but due to the inclement weather, the game was pushed to an hour later.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Overview:
The women’s lacrosse team will battle the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Saturday at 1 p.m. at George Mason Stadium. Mason concluded the 2009 season with a 6-10 overall record and 2-5 conference record, defeating the James Madison Dukes 8-7 in the regular season finale. The Patriots hosted its season opener last week against the UMBC Golden Retrievers. Johns Hopkins opened the season ranked 15th in the nation last year and defeated the Patriots 15-10 in the opener.

Saturday’s game will mark the Blue Jays’ season opener. The Blue Jays finished 5-12 overall last season while going 0-4 in the American Lacrosse Conference.

Mason:
The Patriots return with four 20-goal scorers from last season. Among the quad is the leading scorer, junior attacker Madalyn Jamison. The Second-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection led the Patriots with 59 points on 29 goals and 30 assists. Jamison recorded a game-high five goals and seven points twice last season.

Junior midfielder Chelsea Gamble will also provide some offensive spark for Mason. Last season, she scored 21 goals and led the team with a .538 shot percentage.

Johns Hopkins:
The Blue Jays will be led by its two sophomore standouts, attacker Candace Rossi and midfielder Colleen McCaffrey. Rossi started 15 of 17 games last year, notching a team-high 29 goals and 33 points; McCaffrey followed with 28 points and recorded a .549 shot percentage. Junior goalie Julianne Wisner posted a 2-9 record, posting a .428 save percentage. Senior goalie Lizzie O’Ferrall split time with Wisner last season, going 2-3 and allowing 12.88 goals per game.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Overview:
The men’s basketball team has its home conference winning streak of 18 games in jeopardy as the team takes on the William & Mary Tribe on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. At the same time, Mason will look to prolong its nine-game home winning streak. The Patriots will host another tough opponent in the College of Charleston Cougars in the ESPN BracketBuster on Saturday at 8 p.m. Entering Saturday’s game against the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Patriots held a 16-9 overall record and 11-3 conference record.

Mason:
Two months ago, the Patriots dropped a nail-biter to the Dayton Flyers, snapping its 18-home game winning streak. Since then, Mason has won nine consecutive games, including a thriller last Tuesday against Colonial Athletic Association rival, VCU Rams. Even when the team had to rally from a 13-point halftime deficit, the Patriots did not dismantle in the overtime period. Mason has won 27 of its past 28 games at the Patriot Center. Sophomore forward Mike Morrison delivered a career-high 18 points and added 10 rebounds to his double-double while holding Rams’ Larry Sanders to just two points in the second half of the 82-77 win.

William & Mary:
After starting 14-3, the Tribe lost four of its next five games. The Tribe went back to its winning ways, defeating the Georgia State Panthers 59-56 in Atlanta. William & Mary returned to the Kaplan Arena, hosting the Delaware Blue Hens and Northeastern Huskies. The Tribe holds the best overall road record in the CAA at 8-5, but against the conference opponents, the Tribe is just 4-3. William & Mary currently sits in sixth place in the conference, just a half game behind the Rams, while holding a three-game advantage over the 5-8 Hofstra Pride. Guard David Schneider leads the Tribe with 15.8 points per game and 64 3-pointers. The senior is among the conference’s best all-around players, averaging a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game to go along with 33 steals.

College of Charleston:
The Cougars are led by its three-guard attack. Andrew Goudelock averages 19.7 points per night and leads the team with 93 assists in 25 games. Donavan Monroe and Tony White, Jr. average 12.2 points and 11.6 points, respectively. Forward Jeremy Simmons is the Cougars’ leading rebounder with 7.7 boards per game. Head Coach Bobby Cremins, a former great at Georgia Tech, has produced a high-scoring team that averages 74.2 points per game. The Cougars will not shy away from shooting 3-pointers, totaling 241 treys in 637 attempts. The Cougars are having a solid season at 16-9 overall, especially defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels earlier this year. Last week, the Cougars fell for the first time at home, losing to the Citadel Bulldogs 72-65 at the Carolina First Arena. The team will look for its first non-conference road win, having gone 0-5 thus far.
Records and statistics accurate as of Friday, February 12, 2010.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Overview:
The women’s basketball team looks to defend its home court on Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Patriots take on the heavily favored VCU Rams.

Entering Thursday night’s game against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, Mason had an 8-14 overall record and a 1-10 conference record.

The Rams stood atop the Colonial Athletic Association with a 9-2 record against conference opponents and are among the top teams with a 16-7 overall record.

Mason:
Prior to Sunday’s game against the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Patriots dropped its worst home loss of the season, falling to the Hofstra Pride 72-39 and shooting just 25.5 percent from the field. In its last two home games, Mason was held to below 40 points.

The team responded with a solid effort against the Delaware Blue Hens on the road.

Mason held the lead for most of the first half and part of the second half before relinquishing the lead late in the game.
Despite losing for the 10th time on the road, Mason displayed exceptional effort on offense, scoring at least 60 points for the first time since its 72-61 win over the Northeastern Huskies on Jan. 17.

The Patriots look for junior guard Brittany Eley to be its scoring factor. Eley scored 11 points in last year’s 67-43 loss to the Rams. This season, she scored in double-digits five times.

VCU:
Coming off a disappointing home loss to the James Madison Dukes, the Rams went into Norfolk and dominated on the defensive side, forcing 19 turnovers from the Monarchs.

The Rams shot 53.3 percent and outscored the Monarchs 42-30 in the second half en route to a 75-56 win. Forward D’Andra Moss is the Rams’ scoring leader this season with 17.5 points per game. She ranks sixth in the conference in scoring.

Guard Kita Waller leads the team with 56 steals and averages 14.5 points per game.

Both players recorded their 1,000th point in the game against ODU. The Rams have been stealth all season long, leading the CAA with 252 steals and being ranked second in scoring offense with 69.1 points per contest.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

When sophomore John Liebold first came to George Mason University, he found out that the school did not offer a roller hockey program. Liebold, who played the sport for the past 14 years, was not ready to give up on hockey.

“In my freshman year, we just started a pickup league team at The Box in Chantilly. It was about the six of us, and we just asked Mason to start a club and went to [the club sports coordinator] Bob Spousta and made it happen for our sophomore year,” said Liebold, club founder of the George Mason Roller Hockey Club.

The team, which started with six to seven people last year, has increased its membership to 17 players. The club recruited a player from Pennsylvania while the rest of the players were familiar with each other.
The club currently leads the Northern Conference in the Southeastern Collegiate Roller Hockey League (SECRHL) with an 11-1-0 record and 22 points.

Mason leads the conference in scoring offense and scoring defense with roughly 7.2 goals scored and 2.5 goals allowed per game.

Mason opened this season lighting the lamp in a 13-2 rout over the Florida International Golden Panthers.
Currently ranked 10th in the nation, Mason won its first 10 games in the 2009-10 season before falling 6-5 to the Division I N.C. State Wolfpack.

Despite surrendering a 5-2 lead to the Wolfpack, the team came back the next game and defeated the East Carolina Pirates 6-2.

In its inaugural season, Mason posted a 2-13-1 record and scored 58 goals while allowing 122 from the opponents. In just a year, the team has transformed into a high-scoring offense and goal-preventing defense.

“The key difference has been our coach, who has free time to come this year,” said Liebold. “Last season, we didn’t emphasize that he needed to be here. We like him to be there, but he has a tough schedule. Our coach has definitely helped us out a lot, strategizing our defense and making sure our lines are alright.”

This year, Liebold has taken over a leadership role, which has reduced his playing time to about two to three shifts, but his passion for roller hockey has stayed with him throughout. Liebold and senior forward Dan Brooks have pioneered the hockey club at Mason.

Liebold started playing hockey as an 8-year-old, and until he turned 12, Liebold gave up baseball to focus more on hockey. At Chantilly High School, Liebold played both roller and ice hockey. When he came to Mason, Liebold continued playing in adult leagues.

On the offensive side, freshman defenseman Andrew Lensing and freshman forward Cameron Lensing each lead the team with 18 goals, and Andrew, the team leader in points, is among the top five in the nation with five game-winning goals. Freshman defenseman Harrison Murdock has 15 goals entering the final stretch of the regular season, and freshman forward Mike Zyuzin, who scored five goals in this season’s opener, is ranked 20th in the league with 13 goals.

“I’ve played with the Lensing twins since middle school, and they were in sixth or seventh grade,” said Liebold. “Our freshmen here already know [their] friends from high school that are coming here, and we somehow got our name out and we’ve had people in Pennsylvania who are still contacting us.”

Opponents have had difficulty putting the puck past Mason’s top-notch goaltender, freshman Jordan Pohl. In 10 games, Pohl holds a 9-1 record and has stopped 198 of the 214 shots taken.

He also registered one shutout for this season. The 18-year-old is one of the top goaltenders in the SECRHL, leading the league with a 1.92 goals against average (GAA) and a 92.5 save percentage. On a national scale, he is the leader in save percentage and ranks third in GAA.

In addition to the strong goaltending from Pohl, the defensive line has been a major part in the team’s ability to prevent the opponents from taking advantage of scoring opportunities.

“Based on our record, it was more about fun last year,” said Liebold. “We got the experience, but it’s a little different since we now have a decent team.”

“This year’s progress has been phenomenal. We picked up three or four of the best freshmen roller hockey players in the area; they made a tremendous difference on the team in defense, offense and [in the goal],” said Liebold.

The team will wrap up its regular season schedule on Feb. 20-21 in Chantilly.

“I really think it’s going to be a good program and I just hope that Mason realizes it,” said Liebold. “It’s going to be a big deal because we actually made this club legit for roller hockey and I would like to see it keep going.”

In just its second year of existence, the club looks to build off its immediate success and continues to expand.

For more information on the club, visit http://www.gmuhockey.com/roller.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

On Saturday afternoon, the men’s basketball team (15-7, 10-1) topped the James Madison Dukes (10-12, 3-8) by a score of 70-68.

Mason’s 17 consecutive home wins against a conference opponent ties a school record that was set in 2001.

This win was the seventh straight for the Patriots. A few hours after the win, the Old Dominion Monarchs lost to the Northeastern Huskies, giving the Patriots sole possession of first place in the conference by a full game.

Junior guard Cam Long was on fire Friday, scoring 23 points in the contest. This was the sixth time this season that Long has scored at least 20 points in a contest.

No other Patriot scored double-digits in the game. Junior guard Isaiah Tate and senior forward Louis Birdsong both tallied nine points, and freshman forward Johnny Williams shot for a career-high eight points in the win.

The Patriots came into the game leading the Colonial Athletic Association in 3-point shooting at 40.1 percent.

Playing the Dukes, the Patriots could only manage a 23.5 mark. In shooting percentages, the Patriots fell to the Dukes in every category.

The Dukes shot 35.3 percent from the 3-point range. The Patriots could only manage 46.7 percent in 2-point shooting to the Dukes’ mark of 50 percent.

The Patriots only shot 62.5 percent in free throw shooting to the Dukes’ 72.7 percent, which included a 100 percent mark in the second half.

“I looked at the stat sheet…and we won? I am always amazed when the numbers don’t seem to add up. They don’t seem to make any sense,” said Head Coach Jim Larranaga.

Both teams traded runs in the first half; there were two tied scores and seven lead changes. Mason finally took a 27-25 lead with just over two minutes left in the first, a lead that the team would not forfeit for the rest of the game.

Long was the only Patriot who could find a way to score in the last 7:30 of the game, scoring 11 points in that span.

“Tonight, Cam Long stepped up like he’s been basically the whole conference race. He’s been sensational,” said Larranaga of Long’s higher level of play over the last few weeks.

The poor statistics caught up with the Patriots with 3:51 left in the first, as the lead shrunk from 12 points to four points on a run of Dukes’ drives and free throws.

Freshman forward Trevon Flores, standing at a height of six-foot-11-inches, made a 3-point shot with 52.1 seconds on the clock to shrink the lead to three points, making it a 69-66 game.

The Dukes finally got the ball back and, with 9.1 seconds left, Tate made a game-saving foul on Julius Wells’ shot from 3-point range.

“I was told they blew the whistle way before I even shot the ball, but I didn’t hear the whistle because it was so loud in there. I thought it was good,” said Wells of the play.

The shot was eventually good, but the referee called that there was no shot, sending Wells to the free throw line, where he made both shots, instead of making one and setting up for a the rebound and the put back.
“We didn’t talk about that at all; just make the free throw and give yourself the best shot,” said Wells on why he did not intentionally miss the second free throw.

The Patriots received the ball and put the game away on a Long free throw to make the game 70-68. Ben Louis heaved up a desperate shot from near midcourt, but it missed far left.

The Patriots won for the 17th consecutive time against a CAA opponent dating back two seasons ago when the team dropped a buzzer beater to the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Mason also accomplished the feat from 1999 through 2001.

John Kleeb, Broadside Correspondent

The Hancock File
Favorite Food: Japanese
Favorite Place to eat on campus: Southside
Favorite Vacation Spot: The Beach
Favorite Movie: Book of Eli
Favorite TV: ESPN
Favorite Music: Billy Currington “Good Directions”

With six freshmen on George Mason University’s men’s basketball team, first-year forward Luke Hancock is one of the key players on the team’s young squad. Hancock is currently averaging 8.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

The Roanoke native was recently ranked 22nd on the Basketball Prospectus’ list of top 25 freshmen.
Hancock feels that it was good to receive the exposure at the national level and to be named on the same list with University of Kentucky point guard and potential first overall draft pick John Wall.

Since arriving at Mason, Coach Larranaga has made Hancock feel comfortable playing at home. The idea of playing at the Patriot Center sparked Hancock’s decision to attend Mason. Hancock was also recruited by Toledo, Bradley and Radford.

Hancock, who is majoring in finance, hopes to continue playing basketball after he graduates, but he intends to enter the business world as his fallback plan. He is interested in learning and understanding the function of money.

Off the court, Hancock enjoys having a laid-back lifestyle. In his free time, Hancock goes to the movies and hangs out with his friends and teammates.

Hancock originally played soccer, but when introduced to basketball, he wanted to stick to one sport.
Hancock recalls his first experience with basketball when he made the middle school basketball team. Hancock attended the Hargrove Military Academy and earned all-state honors at Hidden Valley High School before coming to Mason.

Even before the start of the season, Hancock hoped to receive regular playing time in his first year. Hancock immediately made his presence known on the court, scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds and four assists in his debut. After Mason defeated the Liberty Flames 76-72 that night, the team saw great potential in the young player.

As the season has progressed, Hancock has become a key player coming off the bench. In 20 games, Hancock only made one start. Hancock leads all freshmen on the team and bench players with 23 minutes per contest. Hancock is second on the team with a 51.3 percent field goal rate and has been a competent shooter from the line, making 75 percent of his free throws.

His remarkable vision has made him a good passer, ranking second on the team with 42 assists. Also, Hancock has the ability to shoot from long range. He made nine 3-pointers in 25 attempts.

Hancock is one of many players that has a certain pre-game routine. Before every game, Hancock desses a certain way, putting his jersey on last.

Mason is currently 13-7 overall with an impressive 8-1 conference record. The team recently came off a successful three-game road trip in which they had scored at least 80 points in each contest.

Staying composed on the road, playing as a team and being consistent will be important for the team as they try to win the Colonial Athletic Association this season.

For Hancock, the experience he is getting in his first year is crucial for his development down the road.