George Mason University has a deal with the fast-food chain wherein fans can exchange their ticket stubs for free sandwiches any time the Patriots score 80 points. That seemed highly unlikely yesterday with ODU in town.

The Monarchs entered the game ranked second in the nation in defense behind Nebraska, allowing 53.9 points per game. But the Patriots surpassed that total with 10 minutes remaining and reached 70 with 2:55 left.

They managed just one more point the rest of the way, but if their 71-55 victory over the Colonial Athletic Association's preseason favorite didn't satisfy their fans' hunger, it left coach Jim Larranaga happy.

"Coach L always emphasizes that we've got to run," junior guard Cam Long said. " This is a new year, and we've got to become more team-oriented."

The Patriots (7-6, 2-0 CAA) didn't look very unified in Wednesday's 80-57 loss at Radford. The Highlanders, like the Monarchs, had decided edges on George Mason in height, muscle and experience. Radford held a 47-29 edge on the boards. Said Larranaga: "That's not even competing."

The Patriots do possess athleticism and trust in their coach, though--even though none of them were around when he took GMU to the 2006 Final Four.

"Our players know [the Monarchs] were the preseason CAA favorites, that they're very big and that they beat Georgetown," Larranaga said.

So when Larranaga stressed the importance of defense and rebounding, the Patriots listened. And they discovered that excelling on that end of the floor makes things much easier on the other.

Said ODU coach Blaine Taylor: "I told our guys, 'They didn't score on our defense, they scored on our offense.' Some of them gave me some funny looks, but our transition defense was not very good. If we'd been able to score more baskets, we could have done a better job of getting set."