Jan. 14, 2006

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. - George Mason opened the second half with a 12-0 run and the Patriots forced eight James Madison turnovers in the first 10 minutes after intermission allowing Mason to pull away from the Dukes, downing James Madison 65-43 in Harrisonburg, Va.

Mason has now won five straight and 11 of 13 since a home loss in late November to Creighton. The Patriots are 12-4 overall, tying their second-best 16-game start. In 1983-84, Mason started the year 14-2. The Patriots remained tied for first in the Colonial Athletic Association, improving to 6-1. Old Dominion is also 6-1 in the CAA.

Jai Lewis had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year while Tony Skinn had 17 points and Will Thomas added seven rebounds. The Patriots shot .586 in the second half to overcome a poor first 20 minutes. Lewis moved into 15th place on the career scoring list, passing Nate Langley while Skinn moved into 31st place, passing Hal Woodside.

Mason head coach Jim Larranaga earned the 102nd CAA win of his career, putting him five behind Dick Tarrant for the CAA record. Larranaga also needs one more win for 350 in his career.

Lamar Butler scored the game's first five points and Mason was able to jump out to a 9-2 lead. But the Patriots hit a scoreless stretch of more than four minutes allowing the Dukes to get back into the game. They eventually tied the score at 11-11 and took their first lead of the game at 17-15.

Mason eventually retook the lead when Skinn sank three free throws to make it 20-19. It didn't last long, though, as Daniel Freeman's jumper made it 21-20. A Skinn steal and layup put the Patriots back on top 22-21 and that's where things stood at the half. Mason has now led at the half of 13 straight games, despite shooting .296 against the Dukes in the first half.

Mason last won five straight in 2003-04, the other time they opened a season 12-4. They will go for six straight against Northeastern on Thursday at the Patriot Center.