March 8, 2004

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - Freshman Jesse Pellot-Rosa sank one of two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to lift top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth (23-7) to a 55-54 victory over No.3 George Mason (21-9) before 9,006 in the championship game of the 2004 Pioneer CAA Men's Basketball Championship on Monday at the Richmond Coliseum.

Virginia Commonwealth won its first CAA championship since 1996, its inaugural year in the league, as it met George Mason for the first time in the conference tournament. The Patriots were making their third appearance in the championship game in the past six years and won CAA titles in 1999 and 2001.

George Mason sophomore guard Tony Skinn (Takoma Park, Md./Hagerstown CC), who scored all 17 of his points in the second half, hit a fade-away 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds remaining in the game to tie the score at 54-54. Pellot-Rosa was fouled in the lane with 1.6 seconds left and hit the second free throw to give VCU the lead, but the Rams had to withstand a missed baseline jumper from Patriot sophomore forward Jai Lewis (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) at the buzzer.

Senior Domonic Jones, who led Virginia Commonwealth with 13 points, was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament to go along with his regular season Player of the Year honor. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Rams teammates sophomore Nick George and senior Troy Godwin, George Mason's Skinn and Lewis, and Old Dominion sophomore Alex Loughton.

Godwin added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Rams, who have now won eight consecutive games. Skinn led the Patriots with his 17 points, and Lewis added 16 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Godwin opened the second half with a layup to give VCU its largest lead of the game at 32-20, but Skinn had five points in a 12-2 George Mason run to close the margin to 34-32 with 12:29 remaining. The Rams scored six straight points to widen the gap and maintained a comfortable lead until the Patriots used an 8-2 spurt over the last three minutes to tie the game on Skinn's 3-pointer.

The George Mason inside players, led by Lewis's six points, sparked the Patriots to an early 13-12 lead, but VCU responded with a 9-0 run to take a 21-13 advantage as Jones scored with 6:43 remaining. Jones hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 left to finish the first half with 12 points as the Rams took a 30-20 advantage at intermission.

VCU earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, its first postseason appearance since winning the CAA Championship in 1996, and will find out its opponent on Sunday, March 14. The Rams' 23 wins are their most since going 24-9 in 1996.

Mason, which will await a possible bid to the National Invitational Tournament, lost in the CAA Championship Game for the first time since 1991. The Patriots tied a school record with 21 wins this season, which were the most wins in a season under head coach Jim Larranaga.

Box Score
George Mason (21-9) - 20-34=54
Virginia Commonwealth (23-7) - 30-25=55