Dec. 9, 2006

Box Score

Durham, N.C. - The George Mason men's basketball team played in front of a national television audience on Saturday afternoon in one of college basketball's most hostile environments as the Patriots traveled to Duke to take on the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Some torrid 3-point shooting by Duke gave the Blue Devils a nice first-half lead and they made it comfortable in the second half as Mason fell to the Blue Devils, 69-53.

Duke was 9 of 20 from 3-point range and shot 50 percent from the field in the game. Mason did enjoy a 33-28 rebounding edge, including 11 on the offensive glass, but the Patriots shot just 41.5 percent from the field. Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell each had 13 points and four rebounds while Campbell had six assists. Thomas was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field. Louis Birdsong had a career-high nine points but it wasn't enough to offset DeMarcus Nelson's 24 points (on 8 of 10 shooting) and Jon Scheyer's 18 points and six assists.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 6-0 lead and built a 13-5 advantage behind three 3-pointers. But Mason got back into the game through transition baskets, the first from Louis Birdsong, the second from Gabe Norwood. Duke responded with a 7-2 run that gave them a nine-point lead as the Blue Devils got their transition game going as well. Folarin Campbell hit a 3-pointer to stem the tide and Dre Smith followed with a pull-up bank shot before Josh McRoberts and Gerald Henderson hit layups to make it 24-16.

The teams traded runs, Mason first behind a John Vaughan jumper and a Campbell 3-pointer, then Duke with a David McClure layup, a Greg Paulus 3-pointer and a McRoberts basket in the paint. Campbell hit a free throw and Duke's Brian Zoubek hit a pair of free throws to make it a 33-22 Duke lead at the half.

The second half started much the same as the first with Duke hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the first four minutes. They outscored Mason 13-9 to start the second half, and at one point went ahead by as many as 16, 43-27. The lead stayed in double figures despite a 7-0 Mason run midway through the half that cut it to a 57-47 game. But Jon Scheyer hit a 3-pointer and Nelson had a traditional 3-point play and then hit two more free throws as Duke ended the Mason threat for good.

Mason returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 21 when the Patriots play at Holy Cross at 7 p.m.