Feb 15, 2003

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Senior Jon Larranaga (Oakton, VA/St. John's-Prospect Hall) led four George Mason players in double digit points with 16, as the Patriots defeated William & Mary, 60-43, Saturday evening at William & Mary Hall in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball action.

The win improves the Patriots' record to 14-9 (9-5 CAA), while the College sees its four-game win streak snapped as it falls to 11-11 (6-7 CAA). Along with Larranaga, senior forward Jesse Young (Peterborough, Ontario/Peterborough College Institute) posted his second consecutive double-double - and third in four games - with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guards Raoul Heinen (Bunschoten, Holland) and Mark Davis (Springfield, VA/R.E.Lee/Palm Beach CC) added 13 and 12, respectively.

Tribe junior forward Adam Hess led the College with 16 points as W&M shot 34.8% from the field for the game.

The Patriots grabbed an early 6-3 lead, but W&M, behind Hess, who hit his first three shots, all 3-pointers, responded to tie the game at nine with 12:25 left. A Davis 3-pointer opened the Patriot lead to three at 12-9, and two free throws from Young extended the Mason lead to 14-11. After the game was tied at 14-all at 10:24, the Patriots ended the half on a 10-4 run to take a 24-18 lead.

George Mason opened the half by going on a 17-10 run to open up a 41-28 lead with 12:23 left in the game. On three occasions, W&M would close the lead to 11 points, but the Patriots responded, running out to a lead of 15 points at 51-36 with four minutes, 19 seconds remaining. From there, the College would get no closer than 12 points, as Mason made 9-of-10 free throws in the final four minutes.

George Mason dominated the glass, outrebounding the Tribe 40-28, and the Patriots also converted 17-20 free throw attempts to the Tribe's 6-13. Mason shot 36.0 percent from the floor.

"I am very proud of our players and the way they handled themselves tonight," explained George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga. "We've played extremely well over the past few games, and we need the kind of effort we had tonight to continue over the next two weeks and into the tournament."

George Mason travels to UNC Wilmington Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Seahawks.

Box Score
George Mason (14-9, 9-5 CAA) - 24-36=60
William & Mary (11-11, 6-7 CAA) - 18-25=43