Feb. 1, 2008
The George Mason men's basketball team will host James Madison on Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd at Patriot Center. The game, the second meeting between the teams this year, will be televised on Comcast SportsNet with tip time slated for 2 p.m. The game will be Kids Day at Patriot Center featuring an appearance by SpongeBob SquarePants. It's Basketball Alumni Day and Mardi Gras Beads will be given away to students with a valid ID. Following the game, there will be player autographs and free throws.
The Patriots enter Saturday's contest with James Madison tied for second in the CAA. The Patriots have won eight straight in the series, the longest such streak for the Patriots. Mason's senior class of Folarin Campbell, Jordan Carter and Will Thomas have never lost to the Dukes. They are trying to become the first class in school history to pull off such a feat.
James Madison holds a 48-34 lead in the series but under Jim Larranaga. the Patriots are 17-6 against the Dukes. Mason is 10-0 at home on the year. Mason's win earlier this year at James Madison was the first home loss of the season for the Dukes.
Will Thomas, John Vaughan, Folarin Campbell and Dre Smith are all scoring in double figures. Only three teams in the CAA have four players averaging in double figures. The other two are James Madison and UNC Wilmington. The Dukes are led by Abdulai Jalloh, who is scoring 14.9 points per game. Terrance Carter is adding 14.0 while leading JMU in rebounding at 7.3 per game. Juwann James is averaging 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and shooting 59.4 percent from the field. Pierre Curtis is averaging 11.3 points and 4.4 assists.
Vaughan, one of the CAA's top perimeter defenders, has scored in double figures in 13 straight games, the conference's longest active streak. Thomas, one of the CAA's top interior defenders, is second in the CAA in rebounding and field-goal percentage and sixth in scoring.
Mason enters the game third in the CAA in scoring offense and second in field-goal percentage offense. The Dukes are first in scoring offense and third in field-goal percentage offense. Mason is second in scoring defense and fifth in field-goal percentage defense while the Dukes are last in the CAA in both those categories.
