July 22, 2003
FAIRFAX, Va. - Contests against nine postseason participants from last season highlight the 2003-04 George Mason University men's and women's basketball schedules.
A feature of each schedule is 18 contests against Colonial Athletic Association members, playing each of the other nine teams both home and away. The men's team currently has 12 games at the Patriot Center on its schedule, while the women are slated to play 11 contests in Fairfax. The Patriot men are looking to add one more opponent to their early season schedule. It has not been determined whether that contest will be home or away.
On the men's side, George Mason will meet 2003 NCAA Tournament participants Maryland and UNC Wilmington, who played each other in a thrilling first-round match with the Terps edging the Seahawks, 75-73. Mason meets Maryland, who reached the Sweet 16 last season, on the road Nov. 25. Defending CAA champion UNC Wilmington plays home-and-home dates with the Patriots. Other men's highlights include a road contest at traditional Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse and National Invitation Tournament contestant North Carolina (Dec. 7), as well as dates against Atlantic 10 opponents Duquesne (Dec. 20, on the road) and St. Bonaventure (Dec. 23, at home). CAA and NIT competitor Drexel also plays a home-and-home slate against the Patriots.
The Patriot women face 2003 NCAA Tournament participants Tulane and Old Dominion in addition to Women's NIT invitees Georgetown and Delaware. George Mason meets Tulane (Nov. 29) on the road and hosts Georgetown Nov. 25. The Patriots will play home-and-home dates with defending CAA champion Old Dominion and fellow conference foe Delaware. Mason is also slated to participate in a tournament at St. Joseph's along with UNC Charlotte and Stony Brook, Dec. 28-29. St. Joseph's advanced to the second round of last season's WNIT.
The George Mason men, 16-12 overall and fourth in the CAA with an 11-7 mark last year, have advanced to the postseason in three of the past five years. George Mason won the CAA title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2001, and hosted its first-ever NIT game in 2002. The Patriots are picked to finish first in a CAA preseason coaches poll after earning seven first-place votes.
Mason returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team. Senior 6-5 guard/forward Mark Davis, a 2003 All-CAA second team selection and a preseason first-team choice, and 6-5 senior guard Raoul Heinen will lead this season's squad. Davis concluded the year ranked among the league's top 10 in scoring (15.5 points per game) and steals (1.48 per contest) and led the Patriots in three-point field goals made (50). Heinen finished the year ranked fourth on the squad in scoring at 11.0 points per game and second in assists and steals at 3.36 and 1.48 per outing, respectively. The other returning starter is 6-4 senior guard/forward Richard Tynes, who averaged 4.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
The Patriot women, picked fourth in the preseason CAA coaches poll, return four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's team that went 14-12 overall, 11-7 in the league.
Guards Jen Derevjanik and Vernessa Neamo, both seniors, highlight Mason's returning players. Derevjanik, who closed out the 2002 season ranked among the league's top 15 players in eight major categories and earned second-team all-conference accolades, is a 2003 preseason all-conference selection. She averaged 15.9 points and 4.1 assists per game last season, fifth-best in the league in both categories, and was sixth among conference players with 2.2 steals per game. Neamo, a preseason second-team all-conference selection, was second on the squad and ninth in the league with 13.3 points per game last season. She also paced the Patriots in steals (2.62) and rebounds (7.8), ranking second and third in the league, respectively.
Other starters returning for head coach Debbie Taneyhill are seniors Susan Otim, who averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and Osato Edobor-Osula, who started all 26 games at center for the Patriots. Junior Laura Kooij, who averaged 7.1 points per game, returns as Mason's main outside threat after shooting nearly 40 percent (31-of-79) from behind the three-point line.
For information on George Mason basketball season tickets, call (703) 993-3270. Single-game tickets will go on sale Nov. 3. They can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at (703) 573-SEAT or (202) 432-SEAT, or by visiting the ticket window at the Patriot Center Box Office. All game times are Eastern. Dates and times are subject to change. Continue to check the George Mason website (www.GMUsports.com) for updates.
The schedules:
GEORGE MASON MEN
Nov. 25, at Maryland, 8 pm; 29, at Iona, 2 pm;
Dec. 2, EAST CAROLINA, 7 pm; 4, at Hartford, 7 pm; 7, at North Carolina, TBA; 18, MCNEESE STATE, 7 pm; 20, at Duquesne, 4 pm; 23, ST. BONAVENTURE, 7 pm;
Jan. 3, TOWSON*, TBA; 7, OLD DOMINION*, 7 pm; 10, at William & Mary*, TBA; 14, HOFSTRA*, 7 pm; 17, at Virginia Commonwealth*, TBA; 21, at UNC Wilmington*, TBA; 24, JAMES MADISON*, TBA; 26, at Drexel*, TBA; 28, at Delaware*, TBA; 31, WILLIAM & MARY*, TBA;
Feb. 4, at Towson*, TBA; 7, at James Madison*, TBA; 11, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH*, 7 pm; 14, DREXEL*, TBA; 18, at Hofstra*, TBA; 21, DELAWARE*, TBA; 25, UNC WILMINGTON*, 7 pm; 28, at Old Dominion*, TBA;
Mar. 5-8, at CAA Tournament (Richmond, VA).
GEORGE MASON WOMEN
Nov. 25, GEORGETOWN, 7pm; 29, at Tulane, TBA;
Dec. 4, at Howard, TBA; 20, MONMOUTH, 2 pm; 22, at Fordham, TBA; 28-29, at St. Joseph's Tournament (Philadelphia, PA);
Jan. 4, TOWSON*, 2 pm; 9, DREXEL*, 7 pm; 11, at Virginia Commonwealth*, TBA; 15, at James Madison*, TBA; 18, UNC WILMINGTON*, 2 pm; 22, DELAWARE*, 7 pm; 25, at Old Dominion*, TBA; 29, at William & Mary*, TBA;
Feb. 1, HOFSTRA*, 2 pm; 5, at Drexel*, TBA; 8, at UNC Wilmington*, TBA; 12, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH*, 7 pm; 15, WILLIAM & MARY*, 2 pm; 20, JAMES MADISON*, 7 pm; 22, at Towson*, TBA; 26, at Hofstra*, TBA; 29, OLD DOMINION*, 2 pm
Mar. 4, at Delaware*, TBA; 10-13, at CAA Tournament (Norfolk, VA).
* - Colonial Athletic Association games
Home games in ALL CAPS; game times and dates are subject to change
