Nov. 17, 2008

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Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team earned a dramatic one-point overtime win on Saturday in their season opener at Vermont, but none of that drama was on display on Monday night in Mason's home opener against Brown. The Patriots were the superior team throughout and led by double figures for nearly the entire contest as Mason beat the Bears, 89-52 at Patriot Center. It was the second-highest margin of victory in a Mason home opener and biggest since Mason beat Delaware State by 66 on November 25, 1995.

John Vaughan had 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field while Darryl Monroe and Louis Birdsong each had eight points. Michael Morrison, in his collegiate debut, had 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting and he added a team-high five rebounds. Vlad Moldoveanu had 12 points, converting three 3-pointers as Mason shot better than 50 percent from the field while holding Brown to less than 40 percent shooting. The Patriots harassed Brown into 17 turnovers while turning the ball over just six times.

Mason dominated from the opening minutes when they started with a 9-2 run with Dre Smith scoring five of those points. Vaughan, Isaiah Tate and Moldoveanu joined Smith in draining 3-pointers as the Patriots made 4 4 of 11 from behind the arc in the first half. Birdsong and Vaughan were particularly effective as Vaughan had nine in the half with two rebounds and two assists while Birdsong was 2 of 2 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line while grabbing three rebounds.

With 6:49 to go in the first half, Brown trailed by just nine, 25-16. But the Patriots closed out the half with a 14-4 run to go up by 19 at the break. The stanza ended with freshman Mike Morrison slamming home an emphatic dunk on a pass from fellow first-year player Andre Cornelius, making it 39-20.

The Patriots took any fight out of Brown when they opened the second half with a 13-4 run. Mason scored six of those points off steals and fastbreak layups while Vaughan also hit a 3-pointer to put Mason ahead by 28. Mason led by 30 or more for nearly the rest of the way.

The Patriots will return to action on Thursday when they play at Hampton at 7 p.m.