March 4, 2006

Box Score

Richmond, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team survived an overtime scare behind a big performance from sophomore Will Thomas as the Patriots won their quarterfinal game in the CAA Tournament, downing Georgia State 61-56. The second-seeded Patriots will face either Hofstra or Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Mason (23-6) went without a field goal over the final 9:04 of the second half, allowing the Panthers to make up an eight-point deficit. Mason found itself down 45-43 with 3:14 to play when Jai Lewis tied the game with a pair of free throws. Lamar Butler and Thomas each added free throws to put Mason ahead 47-45 but Herman Favors made 2 of 3 from the charity stripe with 33 seconds to go to tie the score and force overtime.

In the extra frame, Rashard Chase gave Georgia State a 49-45 lead before Sammy Hernandez had a layup inside and then hit a 3-pointer to put Mason ahead for good. Clinging to a one-point lead with a minute to play, Thomas made a pair of baskets in the paint off lob passes from Gabe Norwood and Tony Skinn sank a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go to seal the win.

Thomas finished with 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting. Lewis had 12 points and 13 rebounds, Norwood had four assists and Hernandez had eight points and three rebounds. Favors and Boyd Copeland each had 11 for Georgia State which finished its season 7-22 after a first-round upset of seventh-seeded Towson.

Mason showed signs of the rust that comes with a week-long layoff. The Patriots didn't make a field goal for almost six minutes and found themselves down 15-4 early. They trimmed the lead to seven when they finally got warmed up. Trailing 21-14, Mason went on a 10-0 run over the span of 1:15, taking their first lead of the night.

The run began with a Sammy Hernandez 3-pointer with 5:58 to play in the half. Hernandez was 2 of 2 from behind the arc in the game while the rest of the Patriots were 0 for 9. Tony Skinn added four free throws, the second pair off an intentional foul by Herman Favors. Jai Lewis added a basket and free throw to end the 75-second run. All the while, Mason's defense was finally at its usual high intensity.

The Patriots allowed just one field goal and two points to Georgia State over a 7:23 span. Boyd Copeland scored the final four points of the half for the Panthers and those were Georgia State's only two field goals over the final 6:12 of the opening stanza. While Georgia State was able to keep Mason off balance in the first half, forcing 11 Patriot turnovers, they also put themselves in foul trouble. The Panthers were whistled for 14 first-half fouls. Georgia State committed 30 fouls in the contest.

Mason was unable to carry its momentum into the second half, as Mason struggled to build any kind of lead against the Panthers. The Patriots managed a milestone while converting just five second-half field goals. Folarin Campbell's driving layup in traffic with 17:21 to go in the second half gave him 300-plus points on the season. That made this year's squad the first in Mason school history to have five players score 300 or more points in a season.

The Patriots tied a school record for wins in a season with 23. That record was set two years when the Patriots were 23-10. Mason also currently has the best winning percentage in school history.