There’s been a lot of talk about George Mason’s slow start. Last night’s 84-63 win resembled more of the second half of last season.
Otis Livingston II had a season high 30 points on 11-17 shooting including going 4-8 from the 3 point line. Frequently Livingston II shots was coming in rhythm and that had a lot to do with great ball movement. Justin Kier chipped in with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Patriots were stout on the defensive end in the first half. They held Navy to 27.6% shooting in the first half and forced seven turnovers. This doesn’t account for the number of deflections. “For the most part, I thought we defended at a very high level,” said Paulsen.
Finally the Patriots don’t look like a team burdened by expectations.
This was the first time under the Coach Dave Paulsen regime that George Mason had expectations and it has shown throughout the season. At times they’ve played tight but tonight wasn’t one of those times. “For the first time since we’ve been here, Otis and myself, we had expectations, said Paulsen. We allowed for those expectations to put us on our heels.”
The Patriots have won three of their last four games. A trip to Manhattan, Kansas is the last out of conference game before the Patriots start their Atlantic 10 schedule at St Joe’s.
