Sports

• Mason Hosts Home Opener

  Sports February 22, 2010 at 2:38 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Overview: The baseball team started its 2010 campaign in Rock Hill, S.C., taking on the Northwestern Wildcats and host Winthrop Eagles. Coming off a successful 42-win season, Mason earned a trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. Mason will host the Monmouth Hawks, the defending Northeast Conference baseball champions, this weekend. Mason kicks off the home opener at Spuhler Field on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and wraps up the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Mason: The Patriots enter the 2010 season with a new outlook, having lost six of its players to the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft last June. Senior second baseman Ryan Soares, a preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, returns at the keystone position as one of the team leaders this year. In his two years at Mason, Soares has posted identical numbers across the board, but last year, he hit 11 home runs — four more than his total from 2008. In turn, he improved his slugging percentage from .473 to .559. Mason ended its season on a sour note, losing its final four games. Nonetheless, the team won 24 of 26 games at one point and compiled a […]

   

• Powell's Playbook: Performance Under Pressure

  Sports February 22, 2010 at 2:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor As I was sitting in my hotel room in Baltimore, Md., I watched the Old Dominion Monarchs get dismantled by the Northern Iowa Panthers in the opening game of the ESPN BracketBusters event. I watched the William & Mary Tribe fall to the Iona Gaels. I watched the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs beat the Northeastern Huskies at Northeastern University. I finally watched the George Mason Patriots lose to the College of Charleston Cougars on homecoming night. Needless to say, it has not been a good few days for the conference. VCU was the only team in the Colonial Athletic Association to win its BracketBuster, and was one of only three conference teams to win over the weekend. The CAA has touted how well it performs in televised games. This event however proved something quite contrary. I have said that the only way for the CAA to get an at-large bid in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament was for the losing team in the conference’s tournament to do well against quality non-conference teams. The CAA performed well at the beginning of the season, but the top conference teams have been performing terribly as of late. Some […]

   

• World Cup: Dealing with Injuries: Americans with Injuries Need Backup Plan

  Sports February 22, 2010 at 2:35 pm Comments are Disabled

  Donald O’Mahony, Staff Writer With the World Cup fast approaching, the United States continues to have injury problems. Charlie Davies, Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu are all currently injured and questionable for this summer. There is still hope that they will be on the field to face England on June 12, but a backup plan needs to be in place. Although Head Coach Bob Bradley is not required to announce his team anytime soon, here are a few players who might be called on to make a difference. Jay DeMerit – The Wisconsin native has built a good reputation in the national team over the last year and might be in consideration for a starting spot even if Onyewu is healthy. He debuted for the national team in 2007 and started all five matches in the run to the Confederations Cup Final in 2009. If Onyewu is fit, DeMerit will battle with team captain Carlos Bocanegra for the other spot at center defense. However, if Onyewu cannot go, he could be lining up against Wayne Rooney in a few months. It is a difficult task for any defender, but he will need to be ready. Stuart Holden – The fate […]

   

• The Final Showdown

  Sports February 22, 2010 at 2:34 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Overview: Saturday’s matchup between the George Mason University Patriots and the Northeastern Huskies may provide a preview of a potential late-round matchup in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament as both teams look to stay in the top four of the conference. Mason has been just 1-4 in the month of February, relinquishing its lead atop the conference while the Huskies remain in a neck-to-neck battle with the Old Dominion Monarchs for first place. After losing to the William & Mary Tribe on Tuesday, Mason dropped to 16-11 overall and 11-5 in the CAA; the Huskies entered Saturday’s ESPN BracketBuster game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs with an 18-9 overall record and 13-3 conference record. The game will tip off at noon. Mason: The Patriots are coming off a tough home loss to the Tribe, bringing its 18-game home conference winning streak to a halt and also ending its nine-game home winning streak. Mason has generally dominated at the Patriot Center, winning 25 of the past 26 home games prior to last Tuesday, but the team will have to deal with a tough customer in the Huskies on Saturday in its home finale for the […]

   

• Costly Questionable Calls: Williams’ Emphatic Dunks and 18 Points Not Enough to Rally Patriots

  Sports February 22, 2010 at 2:32 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Kleeb, Staff Writer The George Mason Patriots (16-12, 11-5) came up short against the College of Charleston Cougars (19-9, 13-3) on Saturday night in a heartbreaking 85-83 loss on Homecoming night at the Patriot Center. “I think [the BracketBuster] is a tremendous concept; I think it gives a lot of juice to the weekend where a lot of teams are fired up to showcase their talents,” said Larranaga. “I thought the game itself was extremely entertaining and well-played. I was thrilled to see the crowd cheering for us wildly during the game.” The enthusiastic crowd pleased Cougars Head Coach Bobby Cremins, who said after the game that he was impressed with the atmosphere at the Patriot Center as well as young Mason players such as forwards Luke Hancock, Johnny Williams and guard Sherrod Wright, all who had a major impact on the game and all who scored over 10 points. The freshmen accounted for 53 of Mason’s 83 points in the game. The team was still without sophomore forward Mike Morrison, who had been suspended for a double technical foul in the game against the Old Dominion Monarchs. The game started out promising enough for the Patriots, who led […]

   

• Tribe Breach Patriot Center: William & Mary Ends Mason’s Conference Home Win Streak at 18

  Sports February 22, 2010 at 2:31 pm Comments are Disabled

  Cody Norman, Staff Writer Over the last two seasons, the men’s basketball team has posted an incredible 25-1 record while playing at the Patriot Center. They have notched 18 consecutive victories against Colonial Athletic Association opponents dating all the way back to Feb. 16, 2008. As fate would have it, the Patriots took the court on Tuesday night against the William & Mary Tribe, exactly two years since their last home conference loss. The Patriots were without sophomore forward Mike Morrison, who was suspended for two games after receiving a pair of technical fouls in the game against the Old Dominion Monarchs last Saturday. Morrison is averaging eight points and better than five rebounds per game this season, so Head Coach Jim Larranaga and his squad had a sizeable hole to fill on Tuesday night. After an extremely slow start on the offensive end, redshirt freshman forward Kevin Foster came off the bench to spark the home team. Foster brought energy to both sides of the floor and finished the half with 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal in just 12 minutes of work. Sophomore guard Andre Cornelius found his stroke from long range and canned 3-of-4 […]

   

• Not the Great Escape; Mason Falls to Georgia State in Final Minutes

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:20 am Comments are Disabled

  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 […]

   

• Powell’s Playbook

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:19 am Comments are Disabled

  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 […]

   

• Advancing on the Path; World Cup: U.S. Soccer Team Finds Pressure

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:17 am Comments are Disabled

  Donald O’Mahony, Broadside Correspondent The expectations will be high when the United States soccer team arrives at this summer’s World Cup. After their surprise run in 2002 and their tough draw in 2006, the Americans are poised for a solid showing in 2010. Americans everywhere were thrilled on Dec. 9 of last year when their team was drawn into a group with England, Algeria and Slovenia. Many worried that the U.S. would be drawn into another tough group like they were in 2006, with Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana. However, Group C looks to be one of the most straightforward groups going into the summer. If everything goes as expected, the U.S. should finish second in Group C and would likely take on Germany in the round of 16. The Americans would be looking to avenge a controversial loss to the Germans in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. It will be very important for Head Coach Bob Bradley to have his team playing at the highest level possible going into the summer. Whispers of a coaching change for the U.S. were starting to be heard before their outstanding performance at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which they […]

   

• And the Beat Goes On; Patriots Outlast Rams in Overtime

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:16 am Comments are Disabled

  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 […]