George Mason takes over 1st place in CAA after 77-66 win over Delaware

Brought my fiancé to the game last night as the closing seconds of the game ticked off what was she excited about? The Patriots taking over sole possession of first place in the CAA with a 9-1 record in conference? The 16 game winning streak at home against CAA opponents? Nope, she was ripe with emotion over not understanding why Luke Hancock was holding on to the ball in the closing seconds and not jacking up a three-pointer which would have given Mason 80 points and free Chick-fil-a sandwiches for all in attendance. But hey let's be honest those free chicken sandwiches would have been the icing on the cake last night.

The Patriots came out shooting hot again, starting off the night with back-to-back three-pointers and amounting a big lead. Cam Long was again having a good shooting night and has continuted to look so much more comfortable in the shooting guard role, finishing with 18 points and just coming shy of keeping his streak of 20-point games going. Andre Cornelius and him were a combined 5-for-9 from the three-point line as the Patriots continue to have success from there. Meanwhile Sherrod Wright is starting to consistently show that he can come off the bench and make things happen. He's dangerous in the open court and his role on this team seems to be increasing.

Louis Birdsong started in place of the injured Ryan Pearson (hamstring), his status for Saturday is still uncertain. Resting Pearson before the brutal stretch of games the coming up probably isn't a bad idea. Birdsong stepped up big time and probably had his best game of the season, recording 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Does Birdsong need a starting role to keep contributing these numbers or can we expect this off the bench more in the future, that's the big question. The rotation of Birdsong and Foster seemed to work well with Morrison but they won't have as easy a time getting inside baskets against JMU this Saturday if Pearson can't go.

Side note on Paris Bennett and Vertrail Vaughns from the Post:

"Patriots notes: Freshmen Paris Bennett (three appearances) and Vertrail Vaughns (six) are out with wrist injuries and aren't expected to play again this season"

I had traded emails with assistant coach Eric Konkol about this a few weeks ago and although he could not comfirm or deny if either player would be redshirted it's obvious that it's going to happen to at least one of them. The rule on medical redshirting is if a player has an injury within the first half of the year (15 games) and has not played more than 30% of the entire year during those first 15 games, they may be granted a medical redshirt if that injury prevents them from playing. Don't know if any announcement from the school will come before the season is over.