Feb. 15, 2006
Box Score
The George Mason men's basketball team opened the second half with a 15-6 run and the Patriots played exceptional defense as usual as Mason downed Drexel 67-48 in Colonial Athletic Association action at the Patriot Center.
Mason (20-5, 14-2) wasn't as strong as Drexel (13-14, 7-9) on the boards but they didn't need to be on Wednesday as the Dragons made just 30.6 percent of their shots in losing for the sixth time in seven games. It was Drexel's worst loss of the year. Mason, meanwhile, won its seventh straight and for the 13th time in the past 14 games.
Jai Lewis scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half while Tony Skinn, Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell each scored in double figures as Mason earned its 20th win of the season. It's the seventh 20-win season in school history but just the second time Mason has reached that mark in the regular season. In 1983-84, Mason won 20 games in the regular season. That's also the only other time Mason was as good as 20-5 after 25 games.
The Patriots entered the game sixth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense and 10th in scoring defense. Both those numbers should improve after Wednesday's effort as Mason held the opposition to fewer than 70 points for the 22nd straight game. The Patriots also held a team to fewer than 50 points for the seventh time this season, a school record.
Lewis and Lamar Butler opened the second half with layups to put Mason ahead by 10. Dominick Mejia and Scott Rodger answered with layups of their own before Mason went on an 11-2 run. Thomas had a tip-in, Lewis had a layup and free throw and he added two more from the charity stripe the next trip down.
Frank Elegar ended the scoring drought for Drexel but Skinn added two more free throws and a layup to push the lead to 15. Mason led by as many as 18 in the half before Drexel rallied. That rally stymied, however, when Kenell Sanchez and Skinn were each whistled for technical fouls with 5:43 to play and Mason up 15. Both players were ejected from the game and from that point on, Drexel could get no closer than 13.
The first half wasn't very pretty for either team. Mason made just 11 of 30 shots while Drexel converted on 8 of 28. Drexel managed eight offensive rebounds to counteract six turnovers. Mason turned the ball over just twice but made just 2 of 12 from 3-point range. Thomas, who leads the CAA in field-goal percentage, and Lewis, who is third in that same category, were a combined 3 of 10 in the first half.
Drexel was led by Dominick Mejia's 13 points. Chaz Crawford had eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Patriots return to action on Saturday when they play at Wichita State in the BracketBuster. That game will be on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. EST. It is just the second time in school history that the Patriots will appear on national television in the regular season. Wichita State is currently 21-6 and in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference. Because of his ejection on Wednesday, Skinn may have to sit out Saturday's game.
