Nov. 5, 2008

Box Score

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team hosted Randolph-Macon on Wednesday night in their lone exhibition match of the season and the Patriots showed some of their youth as a pair of freshmen played significant crunch-time minutes. Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson were on the court late in the second half as the Patriots tried to rally against the Yellow Jackets. In the end, one of the top Division III teams in the country was able to hold off Mason, taking a 73-72 victory in preseason action.

Randolph-Macon was 13 of 23 from 3-point range and coupled with a slight rebounding edge, it allowed the Yellow Jackets to overcome 20 turnovers and hold off the Patriots in the final seconds. Leading 71-69 with 20 seconds to go, the Yellow Jackets survived a Cornelius pull-up jumper and after Andre Hunter made a pair of free throws, John Vaughan hit a 3-pointer to pull Mason to within one with less than a second to play. The Yellow Jackets were able to get the ball inbounds and seal the win.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out early and led by as many as 13 in the first half. Mason worked to cut into the double-digit deficit and with 8:42 to play, Mason took its lone lead of the night on a Vaughan free throw. Moments later, Justin Short made a 3-pointer and Randolph-Macon never trailed again. Short finished with a team-high 15 points while Jordan Brown had 11 and Kevin Voelkel had 11. Dre Smith had 20 points while Vaughan had 19. Cornelius finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists while Pearson had seven points and four rebounds.

Randolph-Macon is ranked in the top 15 in a pair of preseason polls of Division III teams. The Yellow Jackets are an experienced squad that has been predicted to win the powerful ODAC this year. The Patriots open the season on November 15 when the Patriots play at Vermont.