Feb. 25, 2006

Box Score

The George Mason basketball team honored its three seniors before its regular-season finale against James Madison on Saturday and the trio of Lamar Butler, Jai Lewis and Tony Skinn made sure it was a memorable final appearance inside the Patriot Center as 25th-ranked Mason downed James Madison, 96-68 in front of a crowd of 8,448, sixth-largest in school history.

With the win, Mason clinched at least a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title, the third in school history and first since 1999-2000. The Patriots entered the day tied with UNC Wilmington, which host Georgia State later on Saturday. Mason will likely enter the CAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed, playing its first game Saturday at 6 p.m. against a to-be-determined opponent.

Butler scored nine of Mason's first 13 points and finished with 27 on seven 3-pointers. Jai Lewis had 12 points and eight rebounds and Tony Skinn finished with 10 points and four assists. Will Thomas had 21 points on 9 of 10 shooting and Folarin Campbell had a career-high 10 assists. It's the most assists by a Patriot since Terry Reynolds' 11 against Delaware on Jan. 28, 2004.

Mason (22-6, 15-3) scored eight unanswered points to break a 5-5 tie and take control of the game. The Patriots then used an 18-7 run later in the half to build a double-digit lead that was never threatened. The Patriots took a 12-point lead into the half and went ahead by as many as 30 before James Madison trimmed the lead late.

Butler hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Lewis sank one of his two 3-pointers during a 12-0 run midway through the second half that put the Patriots ahead by 30. With about six minutes to play, the three seniors left the game for good and the Mason bench kept them entertained. The Patriots reached the 90-point mark for the first time this season.

For the Patriots, it was the school's first-ever win as a ranked team. The Patriots also won for the 15th time in the past 17 games. Mason shot .617 from the field in the game and made 12 3-pointers while James Madison was held to 40.3 percent shooting

Kyle Swanston had 15 for the Dukes (5-22, 2-16) while Juwann James was held to 10 points and four rebounds. James Madison had four players in double figures but couldn't keep up with the Patriots.