Colonial Fans

George Mason 75, James Madison 73

In game matching schools named after two great American patriots, it was the capital-P Patriots of George Mason who flew the flag of victory on a significant Saturday in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Entering the day’s action at the JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, GMU and JMU were tied for third in the alphabet soup known as the CAA. Mason and Madison were tied at 5-2, one game behind league co-leaders Virginia Commonwealth and Hofstra, who entered the day at 6-1 in conference competition. These leverage games might not seem like the end of the world in January – there’s always time to make up with several weeks of basketball remaining in the season – but at some point, these games have to be claimed. They always add up in the final standings and appear much more prominent when a bubble resume is being dissected in late February. No, this wasn’t a must-win for either team, but it was certainly quite important nonetheless. With all this having been said, then, Cam Long became the man who might have appreciably altered the trajectory of the 2011 CAA season.

Long, the senior guard who is looked to for leadership on the floor, did everything that should be expected of a man in his position. Long led by example and allowed his actions to do the talking in a conference road game; Mason coach Jim Larranaga’s floor general excelled in the very kind of scenario that demands the most – and the best – from a point guard.

First of all, Long took care of the rock. In 38 minutes of high-intensity action, Long committed only two turnovers and handed out five assists. The Patriots established continuity and flow on their possessions and were able to match James Madison bucket for bucket throughout the afternoon. The homestanding Dukes and coach Matt Brady were never able to fully blunt George Mason’s offense, and that’s why momentum remained with the visitors for the balance of the proceedings. Long made sure that GMU generated good possessions in this game’s most meaningful moments, and the best example of this reality emerged in full relief in the final minute of regulation.

With 1:26 left, James Madison’s Devon Moore missed what would have been a tying jumper in a game Mason led by a 68-66 count. The Dukes, though, were still very much in the thick of things; they merely needed a timely defensive stop to regain a chance to tie. However, that’s when George Mason’s point guard showed that he is Long on excellence. The senior exploited a gap in James Madison’s defense and hit a short floater in the lane to give the Patriots a 70-66 edge with 59 seconds left. George Mason added several foul shots the rest of the way to score a two-point win that was really a five-point triumph; JMU’s Andrey Semenov hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to create a little window dressing.

All in all, Long finished with 30 points, but what was really spectacular about his max-out performance was that he hit 8-of-9 field goals and all four of his triples. His foul shooting was decent (10-of-13), but it was amazingly not as distinguished as his conversion rate from the field. To be sure, this is a game Cam Long will remember well after his playing days are over.

If this special display of basketball brilliance affects the Colonial’s regular-season championship, you can bet that Mr. Long will look upon this day with even more satisfaction and pride.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer