The George Mason men's basketball team needed a win over a nationally-ranked Kansas State team on national television to earn the school's first-ever 4-0 start to a season and the Patriots calmly and comfortably accomplished the task as the Patriots beat the Wildcats, 87-77 at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla.. Kansas State is ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

John Vaughan, Will Thomas, Folarin Campbell, Jordan Carter and Vlad Moldoveanu all scored in double-figures for Mason as the Patriots were able to rebound against a Kansas State team with a clear size advantage. The Patriots had a 39-37 edge on the glass. Vaughan had 21 points, Campbell and Thomas each had 18, Moldoveanu had 11 and Carter had 10 while tying his career highs with nine rebounds and eight assists.

Mason and Kansas State played a tight contest throughout the early part of the first half until the Wildcats went on a 5-0 run to take a 20-15 lead on the Patriots with 11:16 to play. But that's when the tide turned as Mason went on a 13-0 run over the next 5:28 to take a 28-20 lead.

Vaughan got things started with a 3-pointer and Thomas added a basket inside to tie the score. Vaughan added another 3-pointer and Jordan Carter tipped in a backdoor alley-oop to make it 25-20. Folarin Campbell added a free throw and Thomas followed with a basket to complete the run. Kansas State responded by drawing to within three at 30-27, but Mason went on a 9-1 run to take a double-digit lead. This time Campbell hit a 3-pointer while Dre Smith had a pair of free throws and Thomas and Vaughan added baskets inside.

The Wildcats (3-1) played most of the half without star freshman Michael Beasley, who entered the game averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds per contest. He had two fouls and played just 10 minutes. At the half he had six points and five rebounds. Mason, which entered the game shooting 18.2 percent from 3-point range went 4 of 11 from behind the arc in the half while the Wildcats were just 1 of 10 from deep. Thomas and Vaughan each had 12 at the break while Carter had five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Perhaps the most telling stat, though, was that Mason had 13 first-half assists while the Wildcats had four.

Beasley came out strong to start the second half, scoring seven straight points, but he picked up his third foul and found himself back on the bench. Ahead 44-37, Mason got a 3-pointer from Campbell, who then drew an offensive foul on the defensive end, and Vaughan followed with a 3-pointer to put the Patriots up 50-37.

Later in the half, with Mason leading by 15, Kansas State went on a run that cut the Patriot lead to single digits. Beasley hit a basket and free throw and after a Vaughan free throw, Walker hit one from the charity stripe and Beasley hit a baseline jumper. Smith answered for Mason with a fastbreak layup but Beasley hit another from the baseline to make it 60-51. After a Mason turnover, Beasley scored in the post to cut it to seven. But Carter hit a clutch 3-pointer to put Mason up by 10 and later Vlad Moldoveanu hit a pair of free throws to push the margin to 65-53. After Andre Gilbert scored in traffic, Beasley picked up his fourth foul and Thomas made both free throws to make it 67-55.

Kansas State trimmed the Mason lead in half, though, cutting it to 69-63 with 6:33 to go. But Moldoveanu calmed drained a 3-pointer to quiet the Kansas State fans and Campbell scored on a fastbreak to make it an 11-point contest. Another Wildcat turnover led to a Campbell free throw and a 75-63 advantage. From there the Patriots made their free throws and held off every Kansas State charge to earn the victory.

Mason will next take the court on Friday when the Patriots face nationally-ranked Villanova at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. The Wildcats are 19th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 20th in the AP poll.