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Mason men’s basketball won their season opener against NC Central in its annual Gold Rush game

BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

On Nov. 4, Mason’s Men Basketball won their season opener against North Carolina Central 75-58. Mason guard Darius Maddox led the way with 17 points and five rebounds, while guard Jared Billups had eight points and 10 rebounds. North Carolina Central hung around early with strong defense before the Patriots used a 17-0 run to pull away.

“I knew the way that they junk it up defensively, it was going to speed us up,” Head Coach Tony Skinn said. “I got to credit [North Carolina Central Head Coach] LeVelle [Moton], just because that’s kind of his DNA.” 

Forward Jalen Haynes scored the first two points for Mason. North Carolina Central started to get into foul trouble early on, which helped Mason find their groove and tempo in the game with good ball movement.

Mason got out to a 17-0 run in the first half. Mason’s defense held North Carolina Central to a 16% shooting while Mason shot 41%. The Patriots held a 32-22 halftime lead over the Eagles.

Mason’s biggest lead came in the second half by 21 points. Even though Mason turned the ball over 17 times, their defensive stops kept them in control. Mason held North Carolina Central to 16-57 from the field, and 5-21 from the 3-point line.

North Carolina Central held Mason to 21-51 from the field and 2-17 from the 3-point line. However, North Carolina Central’s foul trouble sent the Patriots to the free-throw line 41 times. Mason took advantage of these opportunities, shooting 31-41 on free throws to overcome their poor shooting from the field.

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“I got to credit their defense for taking us out of offense,” Skinn said. “ I got to go back and watch because I was prepared for their 1-3-1 [zone], not so much their 3-2 [zone].”

Haynes was dominant in the paint, crashing the boards and getting rebounds for Mason. Haynes got into foul trouble but forward Giovanni Emejuru came off the bench to fill the role that Haynes had been in.

Haynes and Emejuru each had 11 points and six rebounds to help Mason dominate inside. The Patriots outscored the Eagles 32-20 in the paint.

Skinn wants to play Haynes and Emejuru at the same time, with Haynes at power forward and Emejuru at center.  “If  I had to create a crystal ball of minutes, Geo [Emejuru] would be playing 20 and Jalen would play [between] 25 and 28,” Skinn said. “Certain games are going to allow us to be able to do that.” 

“We’ve got to be able to rep a few things a little bit more in practice, but defensively, I was happy in moments,” Skinn said. “We’ve got to be able to keep our foot on the gas. And if we’ve got a 21-point lead, you know, kind of stretch that to 25-28.”

The Patriots play No. 18 Marquette on Nov. 8 in their first big test of the season. Mason will travel to Milwaukee to play the Golden Eagles as part of the Marquette Challenge. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed on Peacock.