Jan. 24, 2007
Box Score
The George Mason men's basketball has been playing exceptional basketball over the past few weeks but few teams have been playing as well all year as Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams came to the Patriot Center on Wednesday night unbeaten on the road and in Colonial Athletic Association action and winners in 14 of their past 15 contests. In front of 7,579 hostile fans, they showed why they are the cream of the CAA's crop as they made 12 of 20 from 3-point range and took care of the ball as the Rams downed Mason 75-62.
The Patriots (11-8, 5-4) got strong performances from Darryl Monroe and Folarin Campbell but Mason could not stop the rain of 3-pointers. B.A. Walker had 24 points on five 3-pointers and VCU turned the ball over just seven times as the Rams (17-3, 9-0) snapped Mason's 16-game streak of holding the opposition to fewer than 70 points. The Rams have the nation's longest road winning streak, nine, dating back to last season.
Campbell had 19 points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds while Monroe had a career-high 14 points, all in the first half. Will Thomas added 14 points and eight rebounds. The Rams got six points, a career-high 10 rebounds and 10 assists from Eric Maynor and Jamal Shuler added 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting. The Patriots shot better from the field in the game, but were just 9 of 21 at the free throw line and 5 of 17 from 3-point range.
Things started quite slow for Mason as VCU jumped out to a 16-7 lead. Mason used a 7-2 run, though, to get back into the game. Monroe had four points in the early going, a harbinger of what would come in the half's final six minutes. With Thomas on the bench in early foul trouble, Monroe took over.
The junior college transfer entered the game with Mason career highs of 12 points and eight rebounds. By the half, the junior who was Honorable Mention JUCO All-American last season had scored 14 points on 7 of 8 shooting with five rebounds.
He tipped-in a Jordan Carter miss with 5:46 to play to tie the score at 20-20, then, with Mason trailing 24-22, Monroe scored on four straight possessions, showing an array of low-post moves resulting in turnaround jumpers. He gave Mason a 28-26 lead before Shuler hit a 3-pointer for VCU and he gave the Patriots a 30-29 edge with 34 seconds to go in the half before Maynor's jumper in the paint gave the Rams a 31-30 halftime lead.
It's a good thing Monroe had such a hot hand as the rest of the Patriots couldn't find the basket. The remainder of the team was 5 of19 from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range. The Patriots' seven offensive rebounds were critical as Mason had 11 second-chance points in the first half.
While Monroe was scorching, VCU's Jess Pellot-Rosa was almost as potent, scoring 12 points while Maynor had four assists and six rebounds despite being held to 1 of 5 shooting. The Rams also committed just three turnovers in the first half.
Like the first half, VCU opened the second half strong, outscoring the Patriots 7-2 to open the stanza. Mason slowed the run as Thomas drew a couple of charges and scored on a putback. Campbell also had a fastbreak layup to make it 38-36.
Walker responded for the Rams with five straight points, a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer as VCU went up 43-39. Michael Anderson stepped out and hit a 3-pointer to make it 46-39. After Campbell drained a trey, VCU came back and got 3-pointers from Shuler and Maynor and then Campbell and Walker traded 3-pointers to make it a 56-47. To that point, the Rams were 9 of 13 from behind the arc while Mason was 3 of 13. Mason's cold shooting wasn't reserved for 3-point shots, as the Patriots opened the game just 7 of 18 from the free throw line.
Mason had a chance to get back in the game with 7:26 to play and the Patriots trailing 59-51. That's when Pellot-Rosa picked up his fourth personal foul. Upset with the call, he drew a technical foul which also gave him five personal fouls. But after a 4-0 run, Walker hit a 3-pointer and Will Fameni hit a baseline jumper for a 64-55 VCU lead.
The Rams never let the lead slip though, as they made their foul shots in the final minute to end Mason's five-game winning streak. The Patriots will look to start a new winning streak on Saturday when they play at James Madison at 2 p.m.
