Patriots cruise by Tribe on the road for seventh straight, 85-69

Junior forward Mike Morrison ignited the Patriots to their seventh straight win in a rout at William & Mary Saturday afternoon with his high-flying dunks. (John Powell)

The Patriots (16-5, 8-2) faced a William & Mary team (5-16, 2-8) Saturday afternoon known for their good shooting percentages, especially from three-point land, but held them under 50 percent shooting for their seventh straight win, with an 85-69 final score.

But both teams hung together in the first half. Whenever William & Mary’s star forwards Marcus Kitts and Quinn McDowell would knock down a shot, the Patriots would respond with one of their own.

Junior point guard Andre Cornelius, who had hit just two out of 13 three-point attempts dating back to the Georgia State game, hit a staggering 5-10 against Towson before coming to Williamsburg. Against the Tribe, he shot 2-5 from outside the arc his way to a 13-point night.

While known for their outside pressure, even with their larger players, the Tribe’s inside pressure was weaker. That gave an opportunity for junior forward Mike Morrison to break out of his recent scoring slump early in the first half by slamming down eight points and snagging three rebounds.

Sophomore guard Luke Hancock, who lead the Patriots with 11 points in the first half, backed him up. Senior guard Cam Long added 10 for the half. Good penetration saw results as the Patriots scored 48 points in the paint to the Tribe’s 28.

“Just playing within our system,” said Morrison about how he played well in the first half. “Just getting in where I fit in. I left a few short, but we got a lot of good looks. We ran our offense really effectively, played good defense, then just pushed it.”

It was a shootout though, as the Tribe made 50 percent of their shots and Mason, with two extra opportunities, made 57 percent of theirs, including a 4-8 mark in three-point field goals. There were 10 lead changes in the half and the score was tied four times. William & Mary shot well for playing a Mason defense that holds opponents to a 38.5 percent field-goal-shooting mark.

“We executed pretty well,” Tribe Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “I thought [in] the first half, our offense was outstanding. Really, it’s a little disheartening to go in down by five at half, after you play that well.”

In the final seconds, Mason found themselves with a two-point lead, looking content to keep it that way, before Long pulled in a defensive rebound. From the opposite baseline, he charged down the court and knocked down a shot that looked farther than an NBA three-pointer, giving the Patriots a five-point lead at the half.

“First of all, I wasn’t even going to save it,” Long said. “I was about to let it go, but then I realized that it was going to be out on our side. But I just caught it, turned around, tried to find the clock, and I was about to shoot it from right there, just launch it. But I finally found the shot clock above the backboard and was able to drive it and just get closer to the basket.”
But the Patriots extended their lead after the 10 minute mark on shooting from senior guard Isaiah Tate, who knocked down a three to give Mason the 15-point lead, their biggest of the afternoon.

“It’s just team focus and very team-oriented,” Long said. “We emphasize on the game and we have to understand that William & Mary’s system is just unbelievable. They’re a very good team at running their offense and executing exactly what they’re supposed to do.”

Mason started running up the score after that. After an intentional foul called against the Tribe, Cornelius made both shots. Redshirt freshman forward Paris Bennett went on to send a floater to Hancock for the alley-oop.

They would not let up as Long matched his first half with another 10 points, giving him a total of 20, junior forward Ryan Pearson scored 11 for a final tally of 15, and senior guard Isaiah Tate came off the bench for eight second-half points. They would eventually run their lead up to 19 at the 7:21 minute mark, a score too big for the Tribe to overcome.

The Patriots kept the big lead and finished 85-69 for their fourth straight win on the road. The team now embarks on a two-game home stretch. They play Hofstra (14-8, 8-3) on Wednesday and Old Dominion (17-5, 8-3) on Saturday. There is only one game separating Mason from division-leading VCU, and only two games separating the top four teams in the conference.

“I will say this, and I’ve been in the league 14 seasons: I believe this is the most talented and deep the conference has been since I’ve been here,” Head Coach Jim Larranaga said. “There are so many good players and so many good teams.”