Dukes @ GMU in pictures And Without a Filter
This is really about the photos, but a couple quick notes in the aftermath of the Dukes close loss in Fairfax to George Mason this weekend.
JMU didn’t play great, but Bowles was a flat-out man-child, Ben Louis was a huge catalyst in the comeback, and the boys had a shot, albeit an off-line one from halfcourt, to win at the buzzer, which is a hell of a lot better than most recent years at the Patriot Center. The Dukes still have three major problems however: 1) They can’t get a stop on D when they really need one, 2) With only 9 players even dressing they really struggle with fouls and wind, even when they get decent contributions off the bench like they did from Louis and Parker this game, and 3) Julius Wells’ shot selection makes Jessica Simpson look like a Rhodes scholar. He may be the most gifted player, and some of those shots occasionally find the bottom of the net, but EVERY shot he takes seems deserving of a Bill Walton “Terrible!” Now on to the papparazzi portion:
Pre-game we went to Brion’s Grill, where they had free hot dogs in honor of “the incident” in the Burg a few weeks back. Also, we’re old, Hard Times is still smoking, and our buddy from JMU is actually the GM at Brions. Plus really we’ll go anywhere that the beer flows faster than a water filter.
Loading up (with ammo)
Thinking of where I can find a double team to shoot out of
Can't cover a Mason game w/out an obligatory Doc Nix shot
They got rid of Gunston for this friggin' guy?!
That's it, that's our ENTIRE bench. Just killer.
"I thought there were 20,000+ students here?" - Friend of blog on the Masonettes
First of appearance of the GMU Furry
It really was tight down the stretch, just couldn't get a stop here.
The Daniel Day-Lewis of self-proclaimed alternate mascots: Not even leaving character for post-game drinks. God I'm glad I got into JMU and didn't have to go to GMCC
Mason Coach Larranaga. His post-game weapon of choice? Bleu Cheese.
Shot selection has been an issue all season, as have the turnovers. Missing a wide open Bowles under the basket at the end of the first half was a dagger.
great shots. what the heck is a furry?
‘stain as GM?
That furry haunts my dreams.
Bonus points to Larranaga for referring to everyone in the bar as “you lushes.”
Also, Todd really needs to learn how to edit photos. First rule: The image should never be wider than the blog post it appears in.
Jamie’s right about the weak editing skills, but for the record, the Masonettes picture was cropped that way to avoid crushing that poor girl while still getting the point across.
I wish the obligatory Doc Nix shot had captured his green jewel encrusted cane. Legend holds that he won that in a latenight game of Penuchle against Carlos O’Kelly.
I don’t think I will ever attend another JMU-GMU game without pre- and post-gaming at Brion’s Grille. Good times. And Jamie is right, Larranaga earns points for addressing the crowd as lushes. And for his unslakeable thirst for bleu cheese.
Picture cropping is overrated. Leave that to those editor-types! As for the Masonettes, I came up with a simple formula:
Masonettes = “A” for effort
Jason Mraz songs = ouch
Masonettes + Jason Mraz songs = unfortunate halftime entertainment
Excellent post, Todd. Even though you fail to mention that Dazz Thornton’s name was inexplicably bandied about with near reverence in the men’s restroom by GMU fans.