DC Metro Sports - Patriots Win Nail Bitter Against Hampton

Written by Justin Creech
Wednesday, 05 December 2007
Fairfax, VA-- After their worst performance of the season on Sunday against East Carolina, George Mason Men’s basketball coach Jim Larranaga preached coaching to his players. They got the message and rebounded for a heart pounding 57-54 win over the Hampton Pirates in front of 4, 688 at Patriots Center. Larranaga said he explained to his players after the loss to East Carolina the decisions he had to make as a coach and the reasoning for them. This came after senior guard Folarin Campbell was benched for virtually the entire second half on Sunday. “We talked to [Campbell] mainly about what coaching is,” said Larranaga. “I talked about it with the team as well. Dre Smith had been coming in off the bench and lightning it up as soon as he stepped on the court. We were down 12 at the half [against ECU] I Couldn’t wait to get him in there, and then when we erased the deficit, I wasn’t going to take him out.” Campbell got the message and responded with his finest effort of the young season. The senior guard finished with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds, and hit a key 3-pointer with 1:56 remaining to give Mason a 57-52 lead. “It was me, I wasn’t showing intensity,” said Campbell of the game against ECU.“I wasn’t showing intensity everyday and that’s what a leader has to do. [Larranaga] gave me a teaching lesson and I’ve got to bring it every day and that’s what I did yesterday and it showed today.” Campbell summed up the last two days as being wild, but added “I’m just happy to get this win.” Mason shot 48.9 percent from the floor including 11-for-20 in the second half, while holding a 32-28 advantage in rebounds. The Patriots had just one full practice to prepare for the Pirates and their pressure defense. Hampton came in to the contest averaging 20 forced turnovers a game, including 21 in their win over Virginia Commonwealth Nov 29. Larranaga spoke of keeping the Pirates off the free throw line as they attempted 41 free throws against VCU. He felt keeping Hampton (4-4) out of the low post and his team getting in to the low post of offense as being the key to winning the game. Larranaga, however, became frustrated with his team in the second half as they were doing neither. “We needed to get the ball into Will [Thomas],” said Larranaga. “Then the next four possessions we didn’t throw it to him. So, I called another timeout and said let me introduce you to Will Thomas, he’s a pretty good player and he’s your teammate, throw him the ball.” John Vaughan spoke highly of his team's ability to get ready for this game in such a short amount of time. “They’re a team that likes to gamble and they play hard,” said Vaughan. “We played a team like that earlier in Cleveland State. It was tough to imitate that in one day of practice, but I feel we handled it the best we could.” Vaughan finished with 12 points, including four in the last five minutes of the game. The red-shirt junior scored on a lay-up on the baseline with 4:55 left to give the Patriots a 51-47 lead. He scored again with 3:48 left on a long pass from Campbell for a 54-49 lead. “You take advantage of the opportunities you get,” said Vaughan. “Fortunately we’ve got two great players in Folarin and Will who get a lot of attention and it opens things up for a lot of other players.” Mason led 43-32 five minutes in to the second half after a Dre Smith 3. But, the lead quickly evaporated as the Pirates used a 15-4 run over the next 6:33 to tie the game, and had opportunities to take the lead. But, turnovers by Vincent Simpson and Rashad West on back-to-back possessions were followed by lay-ups from Campbell and Vaughan to give the Patriots a four point lead. The Pirates would get one last chance, but Westï¿½s three attempt at the buzzer fell well short. Notes: Mason again played without senior forward Darryl Monroe. Monroe has been sidelined since having exploratory surgery on his right big toe Oct 9. Larranaga said it is getting to the point to where Monroe might be red-shirted because the toe is still sore after workouts

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