Jan. 7, 2006

Box Score

On a night when George Mason was inconsistent on offense, the Patriots played their typically staunch defense and stifled an All-CAA performer as Mason was able to take a 70-56 win over Delaware at the Patriot Center.

Delaware's Harding Nana, who entered the game second in the CAA in scoring (19.3 ppg) and first in rebounding (11.9), was held to seven points and eight rebounds on 2 for 11 shooting. Mason, meanwhile, got another strong performance inside from Will Thomas and outside from Lamar Butler to win for the ninth time in the past 11 games. Mason had 47-34 edge in rebounding in the game.

As a result of the win, Mason head coach Jim Larranaga recorded his 100th victory in CAA play. He is only the second coach to reach 100 CAA wins. He is six CAA wins shy of tying Dick Tarrant for the league record of 106.

It took Delaware (4-9, 0-4) more than eight minutes to record a field goal in the game as the Blue Hens made their first five points from the free throw line. But Mason (10-4, 4-1) managed just two points in the first four minutes, keeping Delaware in the game. When the Blue Hens finally scored from the field on a Pau Geli tip-in, it cut Mason's lead to 11-7.

After surviving such a poor shooting stretch, Delaware seemed invigorated. The Blue Hens used a 15-6 run to rally for a 22-21 lead on a Raphael Madera basket in the paint. Folarin Campbell's drive put Mason back ahead but Delaware responded with an Andrew Washington jumper to make it 24-23. Mason retook the lead at 25-24 on a Lamar Butler fall-away from 15 feet and that's where the score stood at the half.

The Patriots entered the game first in the CAA in field-goal percentage shooting .490 from the field. That didn't show in the first half as Mason shot 29 percent from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range. Fifteen offensive rebounds and a defense that held Delaware to .333 shooting allowed Mason to have the lead at the break.

Mason opened the second half with a 22-8 run but during that stretch, both teams lost their big man. Jai Lewis twisted an ankle about five minutes into the second half and he played just two more minutes in the game. Nana, meanwhile, picked up his fourth foul with 13:46 to play, sending him to the bench. At that point, he had just seven points and four rebounds.

With the two big men out, Mason was able to extend its lead to double-digits for the first time. The Patriots went ahead by as many as 14 before Nana, who was first-team All-CAA last year, returned to the lineup less than two minutes after checking out. He proved to be no factor, however, fouling out with a little more than six minutes to play. At that point, Mason was by almost 20 and on its way to tying for first place in the CAA.

Jai Lewis had eight rebounds in the game, passing Herb Estes for seventh place on the school's career rebounding list. Lewis now has 737 rebounds in his career. Tony Skinn had seven points and two assists on the night. He passed Mark Davis for 33rd on the career scoring list with 836 points and Nate Langley for 24th on the career assists list with 139. Lamar Butler finished with 14 points and he tied a career-high six rebounds. Will Thomas had 13 points behind a career-high seven free throws.

Nana finished with seven points and eight rebounds. The only Delaware player to finish in double figures was Calvin Cannon, who had 10 points. Delaware shot just .365 from the field in the game. Mason finished the day shooting .393.

The Patriots return to action on Thursday when they play at William & Mary at 7 p.m.