Dec. 20, 2003

Box Score

PITTSBURGH - Sophomore forward Jai Lewis (Aberdeen, MD/Maine Central Inst.) recorded a career-high 19 points and added six rebounds in leading George Mason to an 80-70 non-conference men's basketball victory over host Duquesne Saturday afternoon at the Palumbo Center. The Patriots improve to 6-2 on the season, while Duquesne drops its third straight game and falls to 2-5 overall.

Mason sophomore guard Tony Skinn (Takoma Park, MD/Takoma Acad./Hagerstown CC) came off the bench to post double figures for the second consecutive game as he finished with 13 points. Senior guard Raoul Heinen (Bunschoten, Holland) tallied 10 points and junior guard Terry Reynolds (Nashville, TN/Toledo) finished with a game-high eight assists.

Duquesne's Elijah Palmer led all scorers with 20 points and eight rebounds on 9-for-9 shooting. Bryant McAllister registered 17 for the Dukes. DU's second leading scorer, Jimmy Tricco, who entered the contest averaging 14.3 points, was held to only two on 1-for-9 from the field.

The first half saw three ties and five lead changes as both teams played competitively from the tip. Trailing 22-17 with 8:43 left in the period, George Mason pushed ahead on a 12-1 run fueled by 3-point baskets from Skinn and freshman guard Gabe Norwood (State College, PA/State College) to take a 29-23 lead at the 5:52 mark. McAllister's 3-pointer a minute and a half later cut the Patriot lead to 31-29, but Skinn's second three of the half and four made Patriot free throws kept Mason ahead 38-34 at halftime.

The Patriots never trailed in the second half, but Duquesne managed to pull to within one, 48-47, with 14:37 left in the game after a made layup from Kieron Achara. Patriot head coach Jim Larranaga immediately called a 30-second timeout and Mason responded after the break, connecting on four straight field goals, pushing its lead to 57-47, with 11:30 remaining in the game. The Patriots made three field goals in the final 11:30, but connected on 17-of-20 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

George Mason shot 81.6 percent (31-of-38) for the game from the free throw line, compared to 59.3 percent (16-of-27) for Duquesne. Both teams were above 45.0 percent from the field and the Patriots outrebounded the Dukes, 35-29.

George Mason hosts St. Bonaventure Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. at Patriot Center.

Box Score
George Mason (6-2) - 38-42=80
Duquesne (2-5) - 34-36=70