Post by knvb141 on Dec 31, 2009 7:01:10 GMT -5
www.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/231427
By George, Radford demolishes Patriots
The Highlanders turn up the heat on defense to hand George Mason its worst defeat since 2004.
By Ray Cox
381-1672
RADFORD -- After tribulations and trials aplenty in the closing days of 2009, Radford University's basketball got an early jump on ringing in the New Year by banging visiting George Mason like a gong.
The Highlanders crippled the Patriots attack defensively, holding leading scorer Cam Long to one field goal and his team to 27 percent shooting for the game in an 80-53 blowout Wednesday night.
"In fact, everything we had planned on doing never materialized at all right from the start of the game," Patriots coach Jim Larranaga said.
It was the worst defeat for George Mason since 2004 and only the fourth time Radford has won in the 16 games of the series. The Highlanders, 15-32 against the membership of the Colonial Athletic Association now, last won against George Mason in 1993. The Patriots lead the series 12-4.
George Mason had no answers for the Highlanders' front line of Art Parakhouski, Joey Lynch-Flohr, and Laz Trifunovic. Lynch-Flohr, a Fairfax boy who didn't get much recruiting interest from the hometown Patriots, had 15 points. Trifunovic, who also scored 15, had 17 rebounds as Radford demolished its guest 47-29 on the backboards. Parakhouski had 34 points, five off his career high and the third time he's topped 30 for his career. He added 12 rebounds along with five blocked shots.
The big man's real breakthrough was at the free throw line, where he sank 12 of 15 after averaging a puny 51.9 percent from the stripe prior to Wednesday. Radford was 22 of 28 against George Mason.
"I've been working hard in practice, before practice, after practice, every day and in the evenings trying to make my shots go," Parakhouski said. "Every single day, work hard."
The defensive game plan for George Mason (6-6) centered on Radford's center.
"We planned on packing the lane in and keeping the ball out of his hands but obviously that didn't work," Larranaga said. "Tonight he was unstoppable. I thought he was terrific at both ends of the floor."
After leading 34-29 at the half, Radford limited George Mason to six field goals and 20 percent shooting the final 20 minutes.
"We were solid defensively for most of the game," Radford coach Brad Greenberg said. "And, they missed some shots that were, you know, pretty good shots. So we had some of their bad luck working for us, too. It was a combination of us playing good defense and them having a rough night."
Nobody had it any rougher than preseason All-CAA choice Cam Long, who was 1-for-12 for two points in 29 minutes. Long averaged a team high 12.4 points per game coming in.
"Blake Smith did a great job on him," Greenberg said.
The freshman wing played 34 minutes, one off Trifunovic's team high, and also contributed five assists, same as point guard Amir Johnson, to go with eight points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Smith's performance was just one component of the Highlanders' most complete victory in memory. This was after all George Mason, which played No. 8 Villanova to one point in November and gave both Georgia Tech and Indiana fits.
A bright spot for George Mason all year had been freshman surprise Luke Hanthingy of Hidden Valley High by way of Hargrave Military. The 6-foot-5 swingman scored a team-high 10 points.
"We didn't play very well from the beginning," he said. "We couldn't buy a bucket. A lot of guys struggled including me. This was one of my worst games this year."
Already a two-time CAA Rookie of the Week, Hanthingy came into the game ranked in the top-three in seven of nine team statistical categories including third in scoring (10 ppg) and first in field goal percentage (54.2 percent).
"He's gotten himself off to a very good freshman year," Larranaga said. "He's very versatile; he does a lot of different things for us. Tonight, he played the 1, 2, 3, and 4. So, you know, a guy who can do so many different things always has a way of fitting into the team concept."
By George, Radford demolishes Patriots
The Highlanders turn up the heat on defense to hand George Mason its worst defeat since 2004.
By Ray Cox
381-1672
RADFORD -- After tribulations and trials aplenty in the closing days of 2009, Radford University's basketball got an early jump on ringing in the New Year by banging visiting George Mason like a gong.
The Highlanders crippled the Patriots attack defensively, holding leading scorer Cam Long to one field goal and his team to 27 percent shooting for the game in an 80-53 blowout Wednesday night.
"In fact, everything we had planned on doing never materialized at all right from the start of the game," Patriots coach Jim Larranaga said.
It was the worst defeat for George Mason since 2004 and only the fourth time Radford has won in the 16 games of the series. The Highlanders, 15-32 against the membership of the Colonial Athletic Association now, last won against George Mason in 1993. The Patriots lead the series 12-4.
George Mason had no answers for the Highlanders' front line of Art Parakhouski, Joey Lynch-Flohr, and Laz Trifunovic. Lynch-Flohr, a Fairfax boy who didn't get much recruiting interest from the hometown Patriots, had 15 points. Trifunovic, who also scored 15, had 17 rebounds as Radford demolished its guest 47-29 on the backboards. Parakhouski had 34 points, five off his career high and the third time he's topped 30 for his career. He added 12 rebounds along with five blocked shots.
The big man's real breakthrough was at the free throw line, where he sank 12 of 15 after averaging a puny 51.9 percent from the stripe prior to Wednesday. Radford was 22 of 28 against George Mason.
"I've been working hard in practice, before practice, after practice, every day and in the evenings trying to make my shots go," Parakhouski said. "Every single day, work hard."
The defensive game plan for George Mason (6-6) centered on Radford's center.
"We planned on packing the lane in and keeping the ball out of his hands but obviously that didn't work," Larranaga said. "Tonight he was unstoppable. I thought he was terrific at both ends of the floor."
After leading 34-29 at the half, Radford limited George Mason to six field goals and 20 percent shooting the final 20 minutes.
"We were solid defensively for most of the game," Radford coach Brad Greenberg said. "And, they missed some shots that were, you know, pretty good shots. So we had some of their bad luck working for us, too. It was a combination of us playing good defense and them having a rough night."
Nobody had it any rougher than preseason All-CAA choice Cam Long, who was 1-for-12 for two points in 29 minutes. Long averaged a team high 12.4 points per game coming in.
"Blake Smith did a great job on him," Greenberg said.
The freshman wing played 34 minutes, one off Trifunovic's team high, and also contributed five assists, same as point guard Amir Johnson, to go with eight points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Smith's performance was just one component of the Highlanders' most complete victory in memory. This was after all George Mason, which played No. 8 Villanova to one point in November and gave both Georgia Tech and Indiana fits.
A bright spot for George Mason all year had been freshman surprise Luke Hanthingy of Hidden Valley High by way of Hargrave Military. The 6-foot-5 swingman scored a team-high 10 points.
"We didn't play very well from the beginning," he said. "We couldn't buy a bucket. A lot of guys struggled including me. This was one of my worst games this year."
Already a two-time CAA Rookie of the Week, Hanthingy came into the game ranked in the top-three in seven of nine team statistical categories including third in scoring (10 ppg) and first in field goal percentage (54.2 percent).
"He's gotten himself off to a very good freshman year," Larranaga said. "He's very versatile; he does a lot of different things for us. Tonight, he played the 1, 2, 3, and 4. So, you know, a guy who can do so many different things always has a way of fitting into the team concept."