Jan. 3, 2009
Box Score
The George Mason men's basketball team used a 41-8 run to close the first half and open the second half as the Patriots remained unbeaten at home and in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association, beating UNC Wilmington 101-60 before a crowd of 8,010 at Patriot Center. The Patriots shot 61.9 percent from the field and had a 47-20 advantage on the boards as the Patriots are now 6-0 at home, 9-3 on the year and 2-0 in the CAA. The Seahawks fell to 3-11, 0-2 in CAA action.
It is just the fourth time under Coach Jim Larranaga that a Mason team has reached 100 points and first since a 104-99 double-overtime win over William & Mary on February 12, 2005. Every Mason player scored in the contest and the 27 assists were tied for fourth-most in school history. The 41-point defeat is the largest a UNCW team has suffered in CAA play. The game was 1,200th in school history. Mason is now 601-599.
Chad Tomko had 15 points, but just four in the second half and Dominique Lacy had 11 and Jerel Stephenson had 10 for the Seahawks. Mason had five players in double figures led by John Vaughan's 20 points. Ryan Pearson added 13 and seven rebounds while Mike Morrison had 13 on 6 of 7 shooting. Dre Smith and Andre Cornelius each added 10. Darryl Monroe had nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Mason used an 11-0 run in the game's opening minutes to take the lead and after the Seahawks closed to 33-30 with three minutes to go in the half, the Patriots used an 8-0 run in the closing minutes to take a 42-32 halftime lead. Mason shot 53.3 percent in the first half but UNCW was right there shooting 50 percent. Both teams also shot better than 50 percent from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes. The big difference in the period was rebounding, as Mason had a 19-9 edge overall and a 7-0 advantage on the offensive boards leading to an 11-0 Mason lead in second-chance points.
Mason erased any doubt in the opening minutes of the second half as they opening with a 14-2 run to effectively end the game. Smith, Vaughan, Monroe and Louis Birdsong all had baskets in the run which was capped by Vaughan's fifth 3-pointer of the game, a new career-high for the fifth-year senior. The Seahawks didn't help themselves on the offensive end as they were just 3 of 13 to open the second half and an 18-0 Mason run pushed later in the period pushed the lead to better-than 30 points.
Next up for UNCW is a road game at VCU on Monday. The Patriots have just one day off before returning to action as the Patriots host Georgia State on Monday at 5 p.m. The game will be televised by FiOS1 and broadcast on WTNT 570.
