Jan. 2, 2006

Box Score

Boston, Mass. - The George Mason men's basketball team played a tight game with Northeastern on Monday night in Boston and in the end, the Patriots came away with a hard-fought Colonial Athletic Association win, downing Northeastern, 71-68.

Mason allowed just nine points over the final eight minutes and was able to overcome a six-point second-half deficit to take a critical conference win. Northeastern had been unbeaten in CAA play but fell to 6-5, 2-1. Mason improved to 8-4, 2-1.

Neither team was able to break away early. Jai Lewis had several baskets inside but Shawn James was able to counter in the paint at the other end. Mason seemed to earn a break when Barea found himself in foul trouble early, but Mason couldn't capitalize.

The Patriots finally had some success when switching to a 1-2-2 zone. The Huskies missed their outside shots while crisp ball movement on the offensive end allowed Mason to go up 23-14. But Northeastern rallied with 16-foot jumper from Adrian Martinez, a 3-pointer from Bobby Kelly and a layup by Kelly off the fastbreak. A pair of free throws by Jose Juan Barea tied the game at 23-23.

Mason turned to its post players down the stretch in the first half, as Lewis and Will Thomas each had six points over the final 6:16. Lamar Butler added four during that stretch as Mason took a 37-31 lead into the half. The Patriots didn't allow a field goal over the final 3:54 of the first half and only a pair of free throws by Barea with .6 seconds remaining in the stanza kept it from being a bigger lead.

The Patriots had a fabulous first half, shooting .516 from the field, outrebounding Northeastern 21-18, and turning over the ball just three times with 11 assists. But the Huskies were just as careful with the ball, turning it over just twice, and Barea got to the line seven times, converting six of those free throws, helping to offset a team field-goal percentage of .324. Also helping to offset Mason's strong play and the Huskies' poor shooting was six offensive rebounds by Northeastern.

The second half saw the momentum swing back and forth early. Mason had a couple of easy baskets to extend its lead to 10, but Northeastern battled back. Barea and Aaron Davis each had seven points as the Huskies battled back to take a 54-48 lead.

Mason stemmed the tide behind Thomas, as the sophomore made three straight baskets to keep the Patriots in the game. Mason was able to retake the lead at 60-59 when Campbell stole a pass and hit Tony Skinn for a fastbreak layup.

The lead didn't last long as Barea responded to put Northeastern back on top. A Bennett Davis dunk made it 63-60, but Skinn hit a jumper and Thomas had a layup on an assist to Lewis to once again give Mason a one-point lead. Lewis had a tough basket inside to make it 66-63 with 3:24 to play. The lead disappeared quickly as James drained a 3-pointer to tie the game.

After Lewis made 1 of 2 free throws, Mason had the chance to extend the lead, but a turnover on the inbound pass lead to a Barea fastbreak layup and another Northeastern lead. Lewis' basket in the paint put Mason back in the lead and Barea missed a pair of free throws with 1:11 to play but Skinn was whistled for an offensive foul on the perimeter with 40.8 seconds to go to give the possession back to the Huskies.

Barea missed a 12-foot jumper that could have given Northeastern the lead and Campbell made a pair of free throws with 19.6 seconds to play to put Mason up 71-68. A missed 3-pointer landed in the hands of Skinn but he was knocked off balance by a teammate and possession went back to Northeastern. That set the stage for a final 3-point attempt by Barea that was short.