Jan. 27, 2009
Box Score
The George Mason men's basketball team suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in nearly two years last week when the Patriots traveled to Northeastern and VCU. On Tuesday at Patriot Center, Mason found its way back into the win column thanks to a big run to open the second half as the Patriots defeated Delaware, 78-55.
Mason (15-5, 8-2), playing its second-straight game without senior John Vaughan who was out after suffering a concussion last week, got balanced scoring and big contributions from the bench. Isaiah Tate had a career-high 10 points and Mike Morrison added 14 while starters Dre Smith had 14 and Cam Long had his first double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Delaware's Marc Egerson had 20 while Alphonso Dawson and Jawan Carter combined for 20. The Blue Hens shot just 38.6 percent from the field, were outrebounded 47-29 and turned the ball over 16 times.
The Blue Hens (9-13, 3-7) opened the contest with a 7-0 run and went ahead 20-11 as Delaware started 8 of 12 from the field while Mason was 3 of 10. An Isaiah Tate offensive rebound and putback and a Dre Smith steal and layup made it 20-15. After a Delaware 3-pointer, Louis Birdsong drained a trey and Mike Morrison scored on the offensive glass to make it 23-20. The Patriots pulled to within one at 25-24 on a Tate dunk and the Patriots took their first lead on a Morrison basket inside. Heading into the break, Mason held a slim 37-35 lead thanks to the Patriot bench outscoring the Delaware bench, 19-3.
The second half saw Mason take control from the start. The Patriots used a 12-2 run to build a comfortable lead as Smith, Andre Cornelius, Cam Long and Birdsong all scored in the stretch. Delaware was unable to trim the Mason lead to single digits the rest of the way.
The Patriots are now 10-0 at home, the tenth time in the past 11 seasons that Mason has put together a double-digit win total at home.
The Patriots return to action on Saturday when they travel to Old Dominion to face the Monarchs at 7 p.m. That game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet and broadcast on WWRC 1260.
