Coming off two straight losses, the George Mason Patriots look to rebound in this weekend’s CAA tournament. The Patriots (23-8, 14-4) enter the tournament as the third seed, and will play Georgia State.
The Patriots start the tournament feeling good about at least one thing – the CAA Player of the Year will be lacing up his shoes as a member of GMU. Ryan Pearson was given the award Thursday night. He is the forth Patriot to receive the honor, and is the first since George Evans in 2001.
This season Pearson averaged 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds. He is the fifth all-time leading scorer (1,616) for the Patriots, and is one of only four players to eclipse 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 100 assists and 100 steals according to GoMason.
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Even after a stellar regular-season career, Pearson is far from satisfied. He looks to lead the Patriots to a strong showing this weekend.
“I’m going to celebrate this with my teammates and get ready to play, “ Pearson said. “I’m just looking forward to try and cut down the nets on Monday.”
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If Pearson and the Patriots hope to be this year’s CAA victor, they must clean up a spill that, in large part, has been responsible for the team's last two defeats. The Patriots turned the ball over a combined 41 times in their losses to Northeastern University, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
“Its been an issue for us at times this year,” GMU head coach Paul Hewitt said. “Just when we think we got it licked, it pops up on us."
Suspect defense has also played a part in the Patriots stumble into the weekend. GMU gave up an average of 87 points over their last two games, while their opponent shot the ball 53 percent from the floor.
George Mason will play Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in the Richmond Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN3.
