Now that I've had like 2 hours to think about the game, interact on twitter, and commute home I figure I'd get my thoughts together before I get to bed and forget most of them.
Disappointing loss tonight, but with a young team its to be expected. I kept reminding my friend that I was with, that as good as Mason was looking in half 1, that it probably would even out. Sure enough it did and its frustrating.
As far as the game goes, as everyone has said, tale of two completely different halves. First half, Mason defended well, shot the ball well, passed well, and really took control for most of it. It was a joy to watch. But that all came crashing down quick when Fordham started hitting threes, Mason didn't rotate well off screens, starting switching poorly, and let some non-calls dictate their defense. It was real crazy to see over and over again a ball screen and Fordham nail a three pointer. If I saw it, I could just imagine what was going through Paulsen and the staff's head.
That said, during the first half, there were some good things. When run properly, the defense scheme Paulsen has the team doing prohibits the other team from getting into rhythm and crashes the boards. Mason also got out and ran for some easy buckets which makes the team much more fun to watch. I expect as the team matures, their defense will dictate offense more and more. Overall Mason also had a lot of open looks, many of them went in, in half one, but many of them didnt in half 2. Greene looks much more confident and will be a really nice piece going forward. Calixte also had a few strong moments, and AJ provided some energy at moments, even though his rotations weren't good a lot of times.
In addition, the entire game the bench and even the team manager was very into the game, very encouraging to the players on the court. Everyone was on the same page and it was very nice to see.
Its unfortunate that Fordham got away with some physicality tonight. Mar got intentionally fouled in half 1 on the way to the basket, but didnt get the intentional foul, and as everyone knows Greene got fouled at the rim which caused the Mason section to go nuts and Paulsen nearly got T'd up (the ref had his whistle in his mouth and was nearly motioning). There were also numerous other calls that Mason just didnt get, but sometimes thats going to be life on the road, and you have to play through it.
Disappointing to say the least but not unexpected with such a young team. I'm hoping this is used as fuel and the team and program can continue to move forward.
If anyone cares, Sherrod Wright, Shevon Thompson and JDS were at the game tonight as well.
