Patriots reach nation-leading 12th straight win in Tuesday's thumping of VCU

The Rams had no answer for Mike Morrison and the soaring Patriots Tuesday night in Richmond. Morrison had 10 points and eight rebounds in the 71-51 win, including this high-flying alley-oop dunk assisted by Luke Hancock. (John Powell)

If VCU won on Tuesday night, they would have been tied with the George Mason Patriots for first place in the conference and had the tiebreaker edge when it came to postseason play. But Mason won in blowout fashion, 71-51, in Richmond, Va. for their 12th consecutive victory, a team record.

Before the first minute passed, the Rams had a two-point lead, but it was their largest and only lead of the game. Junior forward Mike Morrison tied the game with a layup, then senior guard Cam Long and junior guard Andre Cornelius ran the game to 11-2.

“One thing coach emphasized was it doesn’t matter who you play or where you play it just matters how you play,” Long said. “And today, I don’t think I’ve seen us execute a game plan as good as we did today.”

This season, VCU has been known for their defense, with an impressive full-court pressure as the catalyst, but Old Dominion broke through it on Saturday, handing VCU a home loss 70-59. The Monarch’s Ben Finney and Frank Hassell grabbed 11 rebounds each; the 46-21 rebounding margin sealed an ODU win.

The Patriots came out with the intent of hurting the Rams in the same manner. After the Patriots missed four rebounds on the Rams’ second offensive possession, they came together on the boards. They held the rebounding advantage over the rest of the game by a 36-24 margin.

Morrison’s opening layup was only the beginning of his night. He finished with 5-of-6 shooting for 10 points and eight rebounds. He was on the receiving end of an alley-oop from sophomore forward Luke Hancock with just over one minute left in the second half.

Redshirt freshman guard Vertrail Vaughns averaged only 8.5 minutes per game coming into the VCU contest with a 3.9 PPG average. In Richmond, though, he was subbed in for junior guard Andre Cornelius with 13-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half, sparking the Patriots by shooting 4-of-5 from behind the arc for 12 points in seven minutes.

“Vertrail is a spark plug,” junior Ryan Pearson said with a smile. “He comes in and […] hits big shots all the time. And basically, that was just the boost that we needed to get over the hump.”

Vaughns was known more for his shooting abilities than his defense earlier in the season, but has since put extra work into that side of the game. With his help on the outside, Mason held the Rams to 26.9 percent shooting in the first half and a 2-of-10 mark from behind the arc.

“Our defense and rebounding was tremendous; it was great,” Long said. “Everybody did what they were supposed to do. We basically just shut them down.”

Meanwhile, the hot shooting of Vaughns, Morrison and Pearson extended the lead to 34-19 at the end of the first half.

VCU’s senior point guard Joey Rodriguez came into the game averaging 10.8 PPG, but was held scoreless the entire first half. With his teammates scoring poorly as well, he was only credited with one assist. The bright spot in his night was not the seven points he finished with, but his work on defense to compensate for his poor shooting. His eight rebounds led the team.

“It’s a team defense,” head coach Jim Larranaga said. “We don’t single out one guy that we have to stop. But we let our players know what our opponent is looking for […] Since Andre Cornelius has played against Joey a number of times, he’s a little bit familiar with his game.”

While Vaughns was the only player with a double-digit scoring mark in the first half, Pearson shot 4-of-7 in the second, including two three-pointers.

Long only made 1-of-4 in the first half for two points and one rebound, while focusing on ball-handling and communication to break the Rams’ consistent pressure. He came out in the second, however, with 10 points in the half, adding the shooting threat to his arsenal against the Rams without letting go of his ball-handling duties.

As the Mason lead extended to 20-points, Hancock seemed to focus solely on moving the ball down the court. He only took just a single shot in the second half, but when VCU sent him to the line, as they did relentlessly, he made all of his 10 free throw attempts. As they were sent into the bonus, the Patriots did not miss a second-half free throw. He kept on the boards in the second half as well, totaling six defensive rebounds.

The Rams’ offensive numbers rose in the second half to 44.4 percent shooting from the field. Paired with the fact that Mason could not score from the field for the last 8:29 of the game, it looked like the Rams were mounting a comeback on paper. However, the consistent offensive scoring and good perimeter defense forced VCU to take time before making shots.

A 27-point Patriot lead was too much to overcome. Only by fouling and pushing through Mason’s incredibly lax defense did they bring it to a 19-point game. Free throws finished the game at a 20-point differential.

“I thought our guys fought,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said. “But I thought we were really lacking in terms of our defensive communication. I thought that’s what allowed them to build a lead early and continue to get open shots. And when you give a good team open shots, they’ll make you pay.”

The Rams’ loss marked their second home defeat in a row, but gave the Patriots a win that meant more. The last time they won at the Siegel Center was the 2005-06 season, which finished with the Patriots going to the NCAA Final Four.

They broke the record for most consecutive wins in Mason history, an 11-win mark set in the 1983-84 season under Joe Harrington. The Patriots 12-game winning streak is currently the longest in the nation, thanks to Coastal Carolina’s loss on Tuesday night to snap their 22-game streak. Mason has now won 263 games in the CAA, more than any other team in the conference’s history.

Long and Pearson have won three Player of the Week honors from the conference. Long received his for the 30-point performance at James Madison and Pearson for his high scoring numbers and his team-leading four double-doubles.

The win also means that, at worst, Mason will tie for the conference championship. Their next two conference opponents have a combined conference record of 11-21 in CAA play. The Patriots have a two-game lead over VCU, Old Dominion and Hofstra.

The team travels to Northern Iowa as a part of ESPN’s BracketBusters programming. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 19. The Panthers have an overall record of 19-9 with a 10-6 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“I’m very, very confident that our league is going to show well,” Larranaga said. “We’re also very respectful of our opponent, Northern Iowa, because they’re in a great league.”