Game 22: GMU (15-6 / 4-4) at UMass (13-7 / 4-4) on Saturday, February 3, at Noon.

[Earl the Squirrel]

My son and I have been sitting here in silence for about 10 minutes now. Nothing to say.

Pretty much sums it up. Kids make mistakes, but it doesn't make losing any easier. Hall didn't lose the game for us, we lost it on the offensive glass, too many missed bunnies, Kelly fouling out, etc.

Still...I can't recall going from exhilarated to distraught inside of a second.

We've lost several games because the ball didn't bounce our way and our three point shooting has nosedived. Since we are stuck with the group we have, it seems to me we can tilt things in our favor by encouraging Kelly to shoot 3-5 threes a game. He's got a great release. Of course, until he can limit his fouls, he's not going to be on the court long enough to take those shots!

 

[GMUgemini]

Kelly has played a lot of college basketball. I don't get it...

Is it possible he didn’t even see the shot go in? He’s trailing the play and UMass unbounded so fast that I wonder if he even saw the shot go down.

 

[Earl the Squirrel]

Is it possible he didn’t even see the shot go in? He’s trailing the play and UMass unbounded so fast that I wonder if he even saw the shot go down.

He saw it go in. He just thought, "We're still down by 1 and we have to foul."

 

[JimP]

Is it possible he didn’t even see the shot go in? He’s trailing the play and UMass unbounded so fast that I wonder if he even saw the shot go down.

Interesting question, but I was referring to the undisciplined play of Kelly during today's game.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I'm pretty sure what happened is they ran the play for the three, missed, and subconsciously he just acted like they were still down one when Baraka got the two.

I mean, he f**ked up. It happens.

This is a good team, but not much margin for error. Just missing Malik...

 

[GMUgemini]

He saw it go in. He just thought, "We're still down by 1 and we have to foul."

Was that in the post-game?

Also, to offer some hope nothing that has happened is unexpected. Since I wrote my post about finishing 12-6 we’ve played two tier 1 (likely to lose), 1 tier 2 (tough game we can’t afford to lose), and 1 tier 3 (pissed to lose) and we’ve lost both tier 1 and won both tier 2 and 3.

Now there are two more shots at stealing one against teams we are likely to lose (@loyola, home to Dayton) and unless we win both those we really can’t lose any of the other games left on the schedule.

I think it’s frustrating the way we’ve lost because we could have won both of these last 2 if we were a bit more consistent, but these losses were expected.

 

[GMU79]

"Looks like we're going to Oh No!"
I know how that feels now.

 

[JimP]

Was that in the post-game?

Also, to offer some hope nothing that has happened is unexpected. Since I wrote my post about finishing 12-6 we’ve played two tier 1 (likely to lose), 1 tier 2 (tough game we can’t afford to lose), and 1 tier 3 (pissed to lose) and we’ve lost both tier 1 and won both tier 2 and 3.

Now there are two more shots at stealing one against teams we are likely to lose (@loyola, home to Dayton) and unless we win both those we really can’t lose any of the other games left on the schedule.

I think it’s frustrating the way we’ve lost because we could have won both of these last 2 if we were a bit more consistent, but these losses were expected.

That post breaking down the tiers was a good one. For some reason I think Mason has a better chance of beating Dayton at home than Loyola on the road. Perhaps because we've just witnessed a couple of road loss heartbreakers.

 

[JimP]

Heading to beer #4. Let's see if that improves my spirit.......
Might need a 12 pack after this one......

I get the urge to drink when celebrating a big win as opposed to drowning my sorrow after a loss.

On another note - how 'bout those Knicks!

 

[Patriotsince81]

Patriots Fall in Last Second at Massachusetts, 66-65 - George Mason University Athletics

The George Mason University men's basketball team (15-7, 4-5) put together another dramatic late-game rally on Saturday afternoon at UMass but it came up just short

gomason.com

 

[EXpatriot13]

Hall's lack of awareness was inexcusable and a dagger to the heart. He obviously lost track of the score in the heat of the moment. That can't happen. But he is not the reason we lost this game. Aside from there being no guarantee we would have won shorthanded in overtime, Hall was our leading scorer with 23 points. We wouldn't have been in this game if it weren't for him.

We also gave up 18 offensive rebounds, and our starting center only scored 3 points because he hasn't learned to play without fouling. Of course everybody will remember Hall's terrible brain fart at the end, but this game shouldn't have come down to that. UMASS gave us every opportunity to win that game (17 turnovers, 7 missed FTs), and we collectively found a way to give this game away.

This x1000, great summary of why this game went the way it did.

It’s frustrating that we’ve been manufacturing new ways to lose games in conference, instead of finding ways to take control and overcome.

It’s the difference between a good team in the top 4 and a team finishing somewhere in the middle. I believe the talent is there this season, it just hasn’t come together so far, disappointing because we all want this narrative to change.

As Yogi would say though…it’s getting late early out there.

 

[GMU79]

This x1000, great summary of why this game went the way it did.

It’s frustrating that we’ve been manufacturing new ways to lose games in conference, instead of finding ways to take control and overcome.

It’s the difference between a good team in the top 4 and a team finishing somewhere in the middle. I believe the talent is there this season, it just hasn’t come together so far, disappointing because we all want this narrative to change.

As Yogi would say though…it’s getting late early out there.

Love me some Yogi!

Go

I get the urge to drink when celebrating a big win as opposed to drowning my sorrow after a loss.

On another note - how 'bout those Knicks!

Go Willis, Dave, Bill, Jerry, Clyde, Earl!!

 

[mkaufman1]

First the good

woody newton providing a spark off the bench. 28 minutes today and 11 points. We need him, and he showed up.
keyshawn Hall-23 points and fueled the late rally. If he doesn’t score towards the end, we aren’t in position
our defense played better today and turned umass over 17 times

the bad

we got out rebounded 40-26 today. Yikes. Amari Kelly. Did not play smart in his limited outing knowing we were short up front.

the Ugly

Man, we can hit on Hall all day, but the kid made a really bad blunder. He’s gotta know the situation at all times (every one does)

bottom line is this one hurts, much like the loss to St Joes. It’s disappointing. We’ve been on the winning side against both those programs in dramatic or overtime fashion, but this week we were on the short end. It sucks that we’ve seen regression in the basketball we’ve seen the last month.

This is a midpack a10 squad, and I have no doubts that Tony will improve us. Unfortunately we most likely will be headed for a Thursday exit this year once again. Somehow we were outrebounded, played sloppy, and nearly came away with a win.

 

[hoopsjunkie75]

Us 79
Them 78
OT

Coulda' been, shoulda' been.

..... but wasn't !

=========================

On another note, did anyone see Okojie after Hall's foul? He followed Hall around jawing at him with his arms spread wide for at least 15 seconds afther that mistake.

 

[Mason2005]

To everyone who said he didn't lose us the game, he literally lost us the game haha. This goes down as one of the dumbest plays to lose a game in basketball history.

 

[GMUgemini]

To everyone who said he didn't lose us the game, he literally lost us the game haha. This goes down as one of the dumbest plays to lose a game in basketball history.

Given the state of the game he absolutely did. This is not quite as bad as throwing a hotdog on the court, but it’s certainly boneheaded.

 

[GMUYoda]

Yup... it's all over ESPN front page and on the NCAAM page too

 

[FlPatriot]

To everyone who said he didn't lose us the game, he literally lost us the game haha. This goes down as one of the dumbest plays to lose a game in basketball history.

Without him the last play wouldn’t have mattered.

 

[GMUYoda]

Without him the last play wouldn’t have mattered.

If Kelly had decided not to be stupid with his 5th foul the play wouldn't have mattered

 

[Jack Strop]

One good play can win a game.
It takes MANY bad plays to lose one.

Mason has half a season to go. Could go 8–1 If only our boys in Green 'n' Gold can get out of their own way. Could go 4–5, but I'm still a Mason fan. Lots of basketball to be played. How this team responds, how Tony responds will tell us all we need to know about which kind of team we have.

Onward and upward.