March 1, 2003
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - George Mason senior forward Jesse Young (Peterborough, Ontario/Peterborough College Institute) put in his own rebound as time expired to give the Patriots a 57-55 win at Drexel Saturday afternoon at the Daskalakis Center, closing out the regular season for both teams.
The victory gives George Mason's Jim Larranaga his 100th win as head coach of the Patriots.
The Patriots (16-11, 11-7 CAA) gained control of the ball after Drexel's Phil Goss missed a shot and a jump ball was called on the rebound. Following the jump ball call, senior forward Jon Larranaga (Oakton, VA/St. John's-Prospect Hall) dribbled down court, and with four seconds remaining, had his jump shot fall short. Young grabbed the rebound, had his shot blocked by Robert Battle, but scored on the put-back to give the Patriots the victory.
Young recorded four of his six points in the final minute as he scored on a layup off an assist from Larranaga with 46 seconds left to tie the game, 55-55.
The Dragons (17-10, 12-6 CAA) trailed by as many as nine in the first half and were behind 30-22 at the break. However, Drexel scored the first seven points of the second half to cut the lead to 30-29 with 18:02 to play. There were 11 lead changes the rest of the way. The Dragons tied their biggest lead of the second half - six points - with four minutes left on the clock.
Larranaga led the Patriots with a game-high 20 points. He also had five rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Mark Davis (Springfield, VA/R.E. Lee) added 14 points.
Goss led Drexel with 16 points, making 4-of-9 three-pointers in the game.. Tim Whitworth and Battle scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Patriots shot 38.9 percent from the floor compared to 36.8 percent for the Dragons. Mason outrebounded Drexel, 45-31.
George Mason begins the CAA Tournament Saturday afternoon in Richmond. The Patriots are the fourth seed and will take the court at 2:30 p.m. against the fifth seed. The opponent has yet to be determined.
Box Score
George Mason (16-11, 11-7 CAA) - 30-27=57
Drexel (17-10, 12-6 CAA) - 22-33=55
