Jan. 3, 2007

Box Score

The George Mason men's basketball team started off the 2007 calendar year with an unexpected loss at home as the Patriots fell to William & Mary, 67-63. The loss snapped a 14-game home winning streak against Colonial Athletic Association opponents. Mason had won eight straight over William & Mary and the Tribe had not won at the Patriot Center since Feb. 16, 1998, Jim Larranaga's first year as head coach of the Patriots.

The Tribe (8-4, 1-1) grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and had a 36-24 advantage on the boards. William & Mary finished the game with a 16-2 edge in second-chance points. That made up for shooting less than 43 percent from the field and just 30 percent from 3-point range. Mason, meanwhile, shot 46 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3-point range. The Patriots (6-6, 0-2) were just 1 of 12 from long range in the second half.

Nathan Mann paced William & Mary with 14 points on 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Adam Payton added 12 points while Alex Smith had 11 points and David Schneider had 10. Schneider added four assists while Payton had nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Laimis Kisielius, who entered the game third in the CAA in field-goal percentage was just 2 of 7 from the field but 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.

Will Thomas led Mason with 20 points on 6 of 7 shooting. He entered the contest second in the CAA in field-goal percentage. He was 8 of 10 from the free throw line but he was held to four rebounds. Folarin Campbell had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists while John Vaughan had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Louis Birdsong was 2 of 3 shooting. The rest of the Patriots shot just 5 of 18 from the field.

Mason opened the game with an 11-4 run but William & Mary countered with a 9-0 stretch to take a 13-11 lead. The teams stayed close in the first half. In the second half, the Tribe opened several leads, but Mason was able to close the gap, tying the score at 57-57 with 4:06 to play. Schneider and Payton each hit jumpers and Schneider hit a pair of free throws to give the Tribe a six-point lead. Thomas hit a basket and a free throw to cut it to three before Payton sank two free throws for a 65-60 lead. Campbell made a basket and free throw to make it a two-point game, but William & Mary broke the press and Peter Stein scored an uncontested layup for the final points.

The Patriots have played 12 games and have alternated wins and losses. Mason will look to get its first CAA win on Saturday when the Patriots play at Old Dominion at 2 p.m.