Jan. 16, 2009

The George Mason men's basketball team will play rival James Madison on Saturday in an important Colonial Athletic Association contest for both teams. The Patriots will look to remain in first place and improve on their best-ever CAA start as Mason looks to go to 7-0. For the Dukes, it will be a chance to inch closer to the top of the standings and put together just their second five-game winning streak since the 1995-96 season. Saturday's contest tips at 2 p.m. at Patriot Center and will be televised on CN8, Comcast Sports South and Cox Cable Channel 74 and broadcast on WTNT 570.

Mason is on a five-game winning streak of its own and the Patriots have won 22 of their past 23 at home. The 13-3 start matches the best-ever in school history. James Madison (12-6) has won four straight and will be looking to beat Mason for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Mason's last loss to the Dukes was on February 7, 2004 at Harrisonburg, Va. a 72-64 overtime defeat. This is the longest winning streak the Patriots have ever had against the Dukes. It isn't the longest winning streak in the series as the Dukes once won 11 straight from Jan. 26, 1977 until Feb. 16, 1983.

The Patriots are atop the CAA in scoring defense and second in field-goal percentage defense. Mason is also among the league leaders in field-goal percentage, rebounding and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Dukes are near the top in scoring offense and field-goal percentage but they aren't as strong on the boards or with the ball as the Patriots have been.

Juwann James comes off the bench and he leads the Dukes with 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds. Kyle Swanston and Julies Wells are both double-digit scorers as well while Devon Moore and Pierre Curtis have started every contest. James Madison is averaging 70.5 points per game and shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 37.2 percent form 3-point range.

Mason has three players in double figures led by Cam Long's 11.6 points. He also leads Mason in assists with 3.6 per game and is second in rebounding with 4.5 per contest. John Vaughan is averaging 11.3 points and leads the team with 26 3-pointers. Darryl Monroe leads the CAA in field-goal percentage at 62.4 percent and he is second in rebounding with 8.9 boards per game. He is averaging 10.7 points per game. Dre Smith and Louis Birdsong round out the starting lineup, which has been the same all season.

Smith in particular has had a lot of success against the Dukes. His two best games at Mason have come against James Madison. In the 2007 CAA Tournament, he set a tournament record with seven 3-pointers while scoring 26 points. He was named to the All-Tournament team. Last year, at JMU, he set an NCAA record for 3-pointers in a game without a miss, going 10 of 10 from 3-point range and scoring a career-high 34 points.

Mason Athletics will host the Men's Basketball Alumni reunion on Saturday. All men's basketball alumni in attendance will be honored on-court at halftime with special recognition for the 1989 and 1999 CAA Championship teams. The first 1,500 fans will receive a FREE mascot bobblehead courtesy of INOVA Blood Donor Services. All youngsters can participate in the post-game Free Throw Shoot on the Patriot Center floor followed by an autograph session with select Mason players.