Posted a full recap for the By George site here:
http://giantkiller.co/ByGeorge/2017/01/05/petey-buckets-of-knowledge/ so I'll keep this post kinda short.
- Loved what we saw from Jaire. Need to see this sort of engagement from him night in and night out. He can always give us rebounding and tough defense regardless of whether or not his shot is falling. If he's giving us that and he's scoring well, then we become dangerous. He's made strides as a defender, but prior to this game his scoring efficiency stats were almost identical to last year. Here's hoping this was the start of something good.
- I might be in the minority here but I didn't think we were defending that poorly in the opening minutes of the game. UMass was hitting a bunch of contested shots. The matchup zone looks were cool and I love that Paulsen is starting to trust the guys enough to throw in some wrinkles, but I'm not convinced the zone was necessary. Sometimes good defense gets beat, and sometimes it gets beat several times in a row.
- One thing we're really going to miss next year is Jalen's passing. He's got a solid jumper so when he gets the ball in the high post he's pulling his man out of the paint to guard him. He's a savvy enough passer to exploit the backdoor cuts that open up as a result, and it keeps those driving lanes open for Marquise and Otis. When he gets the ball in the low-post he's become clinical at beating single coverage, or finding the open shooter if they send a double team. I believe two of his assists last night were on threes. These are all skills that Relvao and Temara haven't demonstrated at all, so I'm hopeful Mar will be ready to be a day 1 contributor next season.
Good win, particularly after UMass's shoes were on fire in the first 12 minutes of the first half. Love the mental toughness Paulsen's teams consistently show. Think we can definitely give the Bonnies a run for their money on Saturday and maybe steal one up there.
Mason Athletics @MasonAthletics 
