Monarchs can't close door on George Mason

FAIRFAX

Old Dominion had a chance, which is more than can be said about most of its recent trips to George Mason.

The Monarchs locked down the CAA’s highest-scoring outfit, holding the Patriots to 28 percent shooting, and limiting them to a single 3-pointer – a banked-in, late-clock heave by freshman Corey Edwards that recalled Mason’s 2006 Final Four theme song, “Living on a Prayer.”

The Patriots committed up 21 turnovers. ODU led by eight early in the second half.

“We had them where we wanted them,” guard Kent Bazemore said.

ODU couldn’t finish the job, however, and fell for the fifth straight season at the Patriot Center, 54-50.

The win gives the Patriots (19-6, 11-2 CAA) a regular-season sweep of ODU and puts them a game up on the Monarchs (15-10, 10-3) in the conference.

Adding to the sense of an opportunity lost was ODU’s failure to make plays down the stretch. Unlike its previous four visits here, when the Monarchs lost by an average of 18.5 points, they were in this one with under a minute left.

“Of all the times I’ve come here, start to finish, this game was there for the taking,” coach Blaine Taylor said.

ODU gave itself a chance with stifling first-half defense, holding Mason to 20 percent shooting and 20 points.

A Bazemore bucket on the first play of the second half pushed the lead to eight, a decent margin on a day when baskets were so hard to come by.

The Monarchs then went more than nine minutes without a field goal.

It wasn’t as if Mason sped away, but a 16-2 run gave the Patriots a six-point edge, a margin they were basically able to maintain.

Mason did much of its damage at the free throw line, getting there 35 times and hitting 27. ODU shot 10 of 18.

“We can’t guard them at the free throw line, and they kept getting there,” Taylor said.

The Patriots made 10 trips in the final 40 seconds, when ODU was forced to foul to stop the clock. Still, Taylor was not pleased with the foul discrepancy.

Keeping big man Chris Cooper out of foul trouble was of particular concern, and a key to ODU’s hopes of offsetting Mason’s inside tandem of Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison.

It didn’t happen. Cooper picked up early fouls and spent most of the game “walking on eggshells,” Taylor said. He managed 10 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.

“It doesn’t take Homeland Security to figure out that if you lose by four and are down 17 at the free throw line, that’s where the game was determined,” Taylor said.

ODU nevertheless had a shot to tie it with 43 seconds left, but a 3-point attempt by Trian Iliadis rimmed out. After a free throw by Edwards gave Mason a four-point lead, Bazemore threw an errant pass on the next possession.

The Patriots hit 7 of their final 8 free throws to seal it.

Ed Miller, 757-446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com