Feb. 16, 2005

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. - Guards Lamar Butler (Oxon Hill, Md.) and Tony Skinn (Takoma Park, Md.) combined to score 47 points in leading George Mason to a 74-58 victory over Old Dominion Wednesday night at the Patriot Center, ending the Monarchs' five-game win streak and handing ODU its worst loss of the season. Butler poured in 25 points and Skinn added 22 for the Patriots.

Colonial Athletic Association leader Old Dominion (23-4, 13-2 CAA) entered the game with the fifth-best winning percentage this season in Division I at .885. The Monarchs' other conference loss was a 75-71 setback Jan. 29 at Virginia Commonwealth.

Butler and junior forward Jai Lewis (Aberdeen, Md.), who finished with nine points and six rebounds, both reached the 1,000-point career scoring mark for George Mason (15-10, 10-6 CAA). Lewis also becomes only the fifth player in George Mason history with at least 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 100 assists for his career.

Butler reached the milestone on his first bucket of the game - a lay up at the 18:50 mark -giving the Patriots a 4-2 lead. Lewis joined Butler in the 1,000-point club off a tip-in with 3:15 remaining that matched Mason's biggest lead of the contest - a 22-point margin, 74-52.

The tandem becomes the fifth pair of Mason student-athletes to reach 1,000 or more career points in the same season, and the first to do it in the same game. Steve Smith and Robert Dykes were the last pair to reach 1,000 or more career points during the 1989-90 season.

Butler, who was 6-for-9 on 3-pointers, gave George Mason a 55-43 advantage on a 3-pointer with 8:21 remaining. He later made 3-pointers to give the Patriots leads of 62-45 (6:47) and 72-50 (3:57).

Leading 24-21 with 5:05 left in the first half, Mason closed the stanza with a 13-3 run to stake a 37-24 advantage at the break. Skinn scored 14 points in the first half.

Arnaud Dahi, who picked up his third foul early in the second half and played only 20 minutes, led ODU with 14 points and six rebounds. Alex Loughton had 10 points and nine boards for the Monarchs.

After John Thomas' jumper pulled Old Dominion within five at 48-43 with 11:02 remaining in the game, the Patriots answered with a 24-7 run, capped by Butler's 3-pointer that gave Mason its biggest lead of the game with 3:57 left.

Freshman guard Folarin Campbell (Silver Spring, Md.) added eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high four assists off the bench for the Patriots.

George Mason, which shot 51.8 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from 3-point range, held Old Dominion to 32.8 percent from the floor and 13.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Monarchs won the rebounding battle, 37-34, and collected 17 offensive boards.

George Mason steps out of conference play to host Manhattan Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Patriot Center in an ESPN Bracket Buster contest.

Box Score
Old Dominion (23-4, 13-2 CAA)		24-34=58
George Mason (15-10, 10-6 CAA)		37-37=74