Nov. 12, 2007
The George Mason men's basketball team will take the floor on Tuesday night looking to do something it hasn't in 12 seasons - start a season 2-0.
The Patriots have won five straight season openers but each has been followed by a tough loss. In 2003, Mason lost at nationally-ranked Maryland. In 2004, the loss came at Memphis. In 2005, the Patriots dropped an overtime game at nationally-ranked Wake Forest. Last year, Wichita State pulled away late on Mason's home floor as the Shockers climbed into the national top 20.
This year is just the second time since 1995-96 that the Patriots will play their first two games on their home floor. The previous time was 1996-97 when Mason beat Alabama State before losing to Virginia. This year, Mason opened with Vermont on Friday and hosts Cleveland State on Tuesday. The Patriots are 1-0 after beating Vermont 60-53. Cleveland State is 1-0 after downing South Florida, 73-70.
The two teams met last season the third meeting in the all-time series. In that contest, the Patriots trailed by 16 points in the first half before closing to within nine at the break. In the second half, Folarin Campbell made back-to-back 3-pointers and John Vaughan drained a 3-pointer as the Patriots took their first lead since early in the first half. Mason closed the game with a 14-7 run to take the victory.
Will Thomas had 25 points 10 rebounds and five assists, earning CAA Player of the Week honors while setting a career high in points. Vaughan had 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting while Campbell had 14 points and Darryl Monroe had 12 points. Mason made more than 60 percent of its shots while Cleveland State made a little more than 48 percent.
J'Nathan Bullock had 22 points on 10 of 14 shooting while Joe Davis had 19 points. Both players return to the Cleveland State lineup this year. Bullock had a career-high 26 in the Vikings' 73-70 season-opening win over South Florida along with five steals and 10 rebounds.
Thomas started the season strong with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in just 29 minutes. Vlad Moldoveanu made a splash in his collegiate debut with five points and nine rebounds. Three Mason players joined Thomas in double figures as Jordan Carter, Campbell and Vaughan each had 11 points. Mason had 52 rebounds in the contest, the most by a Patriot team this century. The Patriots were aided by a combined 84 missed shots as they shot 1 of 17 from 3-point range.
The game will be televised on Cox Sports Channel 74 and aired on SportsTalk 980.
