Hens dominated by George Mason

Unlike in Delaware's last three games, there were no last-second heroics for the Hens on Monday, as George Mason used a 18-0 run that spanned both halves to defeat Delaware 69-49 at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Hens went almost 10 minutes without scoring and finished the game with a shooting performance of only 30.4 percent, including just 25.8 percent from the field and 1-11 from the 3-point line in the first half. The loss drops Delaware to 5-4 in the CAA and 10-9 overall.

"We couldn't make a shot," coach Monte Ross said. "Any time you shoot 26 percent, 9 percent from 3, in your own building, that doesn't bode well for you. We held them down to where we needed them to be. It was just like there was a lid on the basket."

Despite only hitting one of their first 11 field goal attempts, the Hens remained close throughout the first half and was only down 23-20 with about three minutes left in the half after a jumper by senior guard Alphonso Dawson. However, George Mason then scored the final 9 points of the half, capped off by a lay-up by Luke Hancock to make it 32-20 as the horn sounded.

The second half began the same as the first ended with George Mason scoring the first 9 points and extending its lead to 41-20 after a 3-pointer by Cam Long. Delaware finally scored its first points of the second half with 13:55 left on a jumper by senior guard Brian Johnson. The Hens never got the deficit under 19 points for the rest of the game.

"We just weren't hitting open shots. Tonight wasn't our night," said freshman guard Devon Saddler, who led the Hens with 15 points. "Sometimes you have nights like that."

Saddler was the only player for Delaware in double figures. Senior guard Edwin Santiago was the second leading scorer with 7 and Dawson added 6. Sophomore Josh Brinkley grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.

Senior Jawan Carter, who leads the Hens in scoring this season, struggled to find an open shot all night, missing all three of his attempts from the field. Carter finished with zero points for the first time in his career.

"I thought they did a good job on him," Ross said. "I thought they were physical with him. Every time he came off a screen there was a hand in his face, and it's probably a microcosm of our night. What he had, we had."

For George Mason, now 7-2 in the CAA and 15-5 overall, Long led all scorers with 20 points while Ryan Pearson chipped in 13 and Hancock tallied 12. As a team, George Mason shot 41.7 percent from the field and out rebounded the Hens 44-37.

The Hens now face a quick turnaround, with a game Wednesday night on the road at William and Mary. When the teams met on Jan. 5 in Newark, Delaware won 61-48.