After their two-game Richmond trip, George Mason (13-10, 7-3) will return to Fairfax to play La Salle (7-14, 5-4) as a part of a two-game homestand.
This contest marks the 6th time these two programs have faced off, with Mason holding a 3-2 series lead. The most recent matchup took place on Feb. 17 of last year resulting in a 69-62 victory for the Explorers in Philly.
While the Explorers won the most recent matchup, Mason is undefeated against La Salle at home (2-0) and is currently 3-1 at home this season in conference play; the one loss coming to Davidson (who recently lost to UMass. Woo!)
The Explorers have been playing decent as of late, winning their last 4 games (Fordham, UMass, Richmond, and St. Joe’s). They currently rank 6th in the A10; 1.5 games back from Mason in the standings.
Breaking Down La Salle
Notable Players:
Graduate student Pookie Powell leads the team in scoring in conference play with 13.3 points per game. He is also shooting 31 percent from three and is recording 3.8 rebounds per game (again, in conference play). He’ll be the main player to look out for in this contest.
Paul Shiri checks in at the two spot in conference scoring for La Salle with an average of 11.8 points per game. He too is shooting well, reaching 44 percent from the field and 48 percent from long range.
Ed Croswell is next up with some good stats; notably grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game in conference play. He also leads the team in blocks with 12 and shooting percentage with a .741 (20-27). Mason will need to box-out Croswell to stay ahead in the rebound game.
Breaking Down Mason
In the last game against Richmond, Otis Livingston II led the team with 20 points going 8-11 from the field, 3-4 from behind the arc.
Jordan Miller came second in points, scoring 14 points, and grabbing 8 rebounds. I think he played the best out of any Mason player tonight. It would have been his second career double-double if he had grabbed those 2 extra rebounds.
AJ Wilson finally got some playing time. I don’t know if it helped, but I’m glad to see him back on the court where he belongs. We’ll never know what was going on, in terms of playing time, but as long as he can perform, who cares.
The Richmond game was bad. I understand that there are blips in the season and hopefully that’s the only one because we can’t have any of those types of performances in Brooklyn. Especially if Mason wants to make a strong run for the title.
Hopefully, the Patriots can get back on track with this game and possibly win by a fair margin. Even though La Salle started horrendously (0-11) they now are pushing up the standings. So don’t let your guard down, boys.
My Prediction: Please win. Please.
I’ll say a Mason “W”
