Members of the George Mason men's basketball with filmmaker/actor Spike Lee in the locker room at EagleBank Arena.

The chance encounter could not have been more meaningful or productive if it had been scripted by Mason coach Dave Paulsen and directed by noted filmmaker/actor Spike Lee. Credit Lee with an assist after his brief but impassioned pep talk helped spark the team's 82-77 victory Sunday at Richmond.
   The paths of the Patriots, who host George Washington at 7 p.m. tonight, and Lee converged Saturday morning at EagleBank Arena, where Lee was part of an EagleBank-sponsored leadership conference for middle school students.
   When Paulsen arrived before the team's 11:30 film session, he was informed that he had just missed Lee, a noted basketball fanatic who played the role of Mars Blackmon in celebrated Michael Jordan commercials for Nike that began in the late 1980s.
   Paulsen was disappointed at missing Lee. Before the film session began, the coach talked to the team about becoming process oriented instead of goal oriented.
   "It's how hard you work in practice, the quality of your reps," Paulsen said. "If you worry about that, the results will take care of themselves. If you worry about results, things get messed up."
   At just about the time Paulsen wrote "Embrace the Process" on a grease board, the door to the locker room opened. In walked Lee, armed with some info from a team manager that the roster included two New York City players, seniors Jalen Jenkins (Brooklyn) and Marquise Moore (Queens).
   Paulsen's scene description: "Spike goes, 'Hey coach, I hear you got some guys from Brooklyn and Queens. I know you guys have Richmond tomorrow. Good luck.
   "He turns around, sees the board and says, 'Embrace the process, huh?' I go, "What's that mean to you, Spike?"
  He goes to the board, takes a marker and writes ME, ME, ME, ME. 'What is that? It's a poison. It's a cancer. It's the same in basketball. It's the same in filmmaking. It's the same in politics. It's a cancer. You've got to play through the process and then you have fun. Otherwise, you're just selfish.'
    Lee, who grew up in Brooklyn and is a diehard Knick fan and long-time season ticketholder, wasn't done. He wrote 60, which will be his age in March, on the grease board and talked about the NBA champion Knicks of 1970 and '73, about how selfless those teams were.
    "It was just awesome," Paulsen said. "I was going to keep going. I thought, 'Never mind. That's a wrap.'"
   The team bused to Richmond, held a practice and the next day jumped out to a 49-34 halftime lead that stretched to 23 points early in the second half. The City duo led the way. Moore recorded his 12^th double double of the season, with 25 points and 13 rebounds; Jenkins added 16 points and eight rebounds. Another NYC area player, Otis Livingston II of Edison, N.J. added 11 points and four assists.
   The trio was relentless in attacking the rim – scoring on difficult, acrobatic drives –and moving the ball. So was Jaire Grayer, adding nine points and 12 rebounds.
   "In stretches there, that was the best basketball we've played all year," Paulsen said. "I thought we played very well defensively against a team that's very, very hard to guard and executed at a high level offensively."
    Jenkins felt inspired by the brief Lee visit: "When Spike came, we were all locked in. For us it was awesome. The message was simple but a meaningful one: When you're on a team, it can't be about me or I. It has to be about us, about we. I think that's exactly how we came out and played against Richmond."
   It wasn't just Lee's influence at work. During the bye week after a disappointing 63-56 loss to St. Louis, the team held what Paulsen called a "back to basics, mini boot camp" along with installation of new offensive and defensive wrinkles.
   "I felt comfortable going into the game that we'd play well," Paulsen said. "I didn't know what the result would be, but we had a great week of practice."
   The team embraced the process and played unselfishly. To slightly alter a Lee film title, They Did the Right Thing.
   Jenkins will remember the locker room moment with Brooklyn buddy and fellow Knick fanatic Lee for a long time.
   "It was the best kind of surprise you could ever have," he said. "Whenever you have a random celebrity especially of Spike's caliber show up and just give you a meaningful pep talk before a road game against the No. 1 team in the conference, it always gives you an extra boost.
   "Spike is legendary. That was cool to dap Spike up and have that little moment. Awesome."