– Chris Lang
George Mason 28, Liberty 27. The Patriots scored the game’s first nine points and later led 18-9 before the Flames woke up. Liberty was content to continue to play zone defense and keep Mason’s bigs — Will Thomas and Louis Birdsong — from killing them down low. The problem was that Dre Smith hit two 3s and Folarin Campbell added another right out of the gates. Liberty coach Ritchie McKay stuck to his strategy, and Mason cooled down from outside, finishing the half at 4-for-10 after hitting three of its first four 3s.
Liberty struggled early with the Patriots’ trapping defense, but the Flames managed to get the ball up the floor after a couple of ugly early possessions. Anthony Smith and Alex McLean lead Liberty with 10 points each.
Keys for the Flames in the second half:
* Keep playing zone and hope Smith doesn’t get hot again. He’s a 39 percent 3-point shooter, so he’s capable of getting hot.
* Keep being patient on offense. The Flames don’t ever seem to panic offensively. They reverse the ball and don’t take bad shots, and that’s kept them in the game here today.
* Keep TeeJay Bannister out of foul trouble. He sat out the end of the half with two fouls. The first foul was a stupid one on his part — he grabbed the arm of GMU’s Vlad Moldoveanu after the 6-10 center already had possession of a rebound. Liberty is a better team with Bannister on the floor. He can’t keep picking up dumb fouls.
