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Delaware 83, George Mason
56
FAIRFAX, VA -- The Blue Hens of old may be back. Connecting on 13 three-pointers, grabbing every loose ball, and playing a swarming man-to-man defense, Delaware thumped George Mason on its home floor, 83-56, in Delaware's inaugural game in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Blue Hens (4-5, 1-0) handed George Mason (5-3, 0-1) just its sixth home loss in its last 41 home games. The Patriots, who hadn't played in 14 days, lost their second straight at home. It was the first time that George Mason has lost consecutive home games since February 1998, Jim Larranaga's first season as coach of the Patriots. It was also the defending CAA champions' worst loss since a 39-point defeat at Penn State in December 1997 and their worst at home since an 82-53 loss to Akron two games earlier. Austen Rowland led the way for Delaware with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field. The junior from Hyattsville, MD hit 4 of 7 from three-point range. Along with Rowland's 18, Delaware got 17 points from sophomore Mike Ames and 12 points from freshman Mike Slattery, his first game in double-figures. Ames, who came in as the leading three-pointer shooter in the CAA at 51.4%, hit three of six from behind the arc. "We came out and played hard early and got our confidence," said Rowland. "It seemed to just shoot off from there. "Our main focus was to take their main guys away. Our guys did a great job on Rob Anderson and taking him out of the game. We didn't give him any open looks and made him work for everything." Anderson came into the game averaging 15.7 ppg and shooting better than 40% from three-point range. He finished with 11 points and hit just 1 of 3 from behind the arc. "We were fortunate to get off to a great start and maintain our level all night," said Delaware coach David Henderson. "This was the first time we played 40 minutes this season and I'm really proud of the way our guys competed. George Mason is a very good basketball team." The Blue Hens, outhustling George Mason for every loose ball, jumped all over the Patriots at the outset. Ames, who turns 20 on Sunday, extended his string to nine-straight games with a three-pointer as Delaware took a 9-2 lead. Slattery's three-pointer from the top of the key extended that lead to double-digits, 18-7, with 13:20 left in the first half. Two Slattery free throws 40 seconds later game the Blue Hens a 13-point advantage. As the Patriots struggled from the field, missing seven of their first 10 from the field, Delaware continued to pour it on. Three-pointers by Rowland and Ames gave the Blue Hens a 19-point lead, 26-7. There wouldn't be a let-up in the first half. Slattery's lay-up off a beautiful Ryan Iversen feed gave Delaware a 36-15 lead with four minutes to go, Delaware's biggest lead of the season. When the smoke cleared at intermission, Delaware had a 21-9 advantage in rebounding, was shooting 7 for 11 from three-point range, 17 for 30 from the field overall, and held an unthinkable 43-19 halftime lead. A 17-5 George Mason run and a Delaware cold streak put the Patriots back to within 15 midway through the second half. The Blue Hens missed 12 of their first 16 from the field to open the second half as George Mason closed to within 55-40. However, Rowland, who scored in double-figures for the fourth straight game, knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the night and the team's 10th to break the string. Delaware, which has now won four straight conference openers and 10 of the last 12, wouldn't be threatened again, pushing the margin back above 20 for most of the remainder of the game. Delaware finished with a 44-22 advantage on the board. The Blue Hens, who finished with 16 offensive rebounds, were led on the glass by Maurice Sessoms' nine boards. The Blue Hens return to action Sunday, December 30 when they host Loyola (MD) at the Bob Carpenter Center in a rare matinee. Game time is 1 p.m. AGATE Official Basketball Box Score
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