Patriots remain hot, explode past VCU 71-51

The Patriots rolled by VCU on the road Tuesday night by a 20-point margin, sparked by sophomore Vertrail Vaughns, who went 4-5 from three-point land for 12 points all in the first half. (John Powell)

In a highly publicized rivalry matchup between the first-place Patriots (22-5, 14-2) and the second-place VCU Rams (20-8, 12-4), the Patriots went to Richmond and routed the Rams, 71-51, in a game that was entirely one-sided from the opening tip.

This is the 12th win in a row for the Patriots, which is the longest active streak in the nation and an all-time record for Mason hoops. They haven’t lost a basketball game since Jan. 8. The win also secures at least a tie for the regular season title in the CAA. They are currently two games ahead of three teams tied for second, including VCU.

While the Patriots continue streaking, the Rams have lost two consecutive contests after falling Saturday against ODU, 70-59. Both loses were at home.

The first half was the Vertrail Vaughns show. In just 11 minutes of action, he went an astounding 4-5 from beyond the arc for 12 points. Other than Vaughns, the offense was limited in the first half. The defense was the story of the first 20 minutes, which allowed the Patriots to enter the locker room at the break with a substantial 34-19 lead.

The Rams were never able to cut into the lead as the margin hovered around 20 points throughout the second half.

In addition to Vaughns, four other players scored in double-figures for the Patriots.

Junior forward Ryan Pearson continued his strong play with a game-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. Senior guard Cam Long had a solid all-around game with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Junior forward Mike Morrison also scored in double-figures with 10 points in addition to his eight rebounds.

Sophomore wing player Luke Hancock made no field goals, but shot 10-10 from the free-throw line and nearly registered a triple-double with eight rebounds and seven assists.

VCU’s star point guard Joey Rodriguez was held to just seven points.

The Patriots will put their winning streak on the line Saturday at Northern Iowa in an ESPN BracketBuster game, aired at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.