Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team matched its best start ever in Colonial Athletic Association play as the Patriots survived a turnover-filled effort to hold off the Old Dominion Monarchs, 61-53 at Patriot Center. Mason is now 5-0 in CAA play. The 1998-99 team was the only other squad to reach that mark. At 12-3 overall, this is just the second time in school history Mason has opened a year with 12 or more wins in its first 15 games.

Darryl Monroe had his third straight double-double finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Cam Long, Dre Smith and John Vaughan all had big 3-pointers for the Patriots and they combined for 30 points, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range, and 10 assists. Ben Finney and Gerald Lee each had double-digit scoring games as they had 16 and 15, respectively. Mason shot significantly better from the field than ODU and they outrebounded the Monarchs (9-6, 2-3) but Mason committed twice as many turnovers to help ODU stay in the game.

The Patriots opened the game with both hot shooting and strong defense. Mason went 7 of 9 from the field while ODU was 2 of 16. The result was a 16-4 Patriot lead after 10 minutes. That's when the Monarchs finally started to make their shots and the Patriots cooled off as ODU pulled to within four. The teams went into the break with Mason leading, 26-21.

The opening minutes saw Old Dominion pull to within one at 32-31 but the Patriots responded with an 8-0 run behind 3-pointers from Vaughan and Smith and a pair of free throws from Long. Old Dominion pulled to within four later in the half, but Mason had an answer every time.

The Patriots return to action on Wednesday when they travel to William & Mary for a 7 p.m. tip.