Jan. 5, 2009
Box Score
The George Mason men's basketball team used a 16-4 run in the closing minutes on Monday evening to push past Georgia State and win a battle of first-place Colonial Athletic Association teams as Mason beat the Panthers, 58-52 at Patriot Center. Darryl Monroe was 7 of 8 from the field and he finished with his third double-double of the season as Mason improved to 3-0 in the CAA, 7-0 at home and 10-3 on the year. Georgia State is 2-1 in the CAA and 4-10 on the year.
Cam Long had a game-high 18 points and he tied his career high with nine rebounds. Monroe finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Patriots outrebounded Georgia State 37-29. The Panthers were led by Leonard Mendez and Xavier Hansbro who each had 16 points.
After falling behind 9-2, the Patriots used a 21-4 run to take control of the game. Darryl Monroe had eight points in that stretch while Cam Long had six as Mason overcame three early 3-pointers by the Panthers. Mason used defense to create turnovers and after letting Georgia State open the game 3 of 6 from the field, they limited the Panthers to 2 of their next 11. The Panthers finished the half strong and Mason went into the break with just a slim, 27-21 lead.
Georgia State came out strong in the second half while the Patriots seemed to lack any energy. The Panthers used that to their advantage, as a 10-4 run to open the half tied the score at 31-31. Georgia State finally retook the led on Goldston's basket inside that made it 38-36 with a little more than eight minutes to play.
Down 40-37, Mason struck quickly. First Andre Cornelius drained a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Then Monroe came up with a block that triggered a fastbreak layup for Dre Smith. After the Patriots forced a Georgia State miss, John Vaughan drove to the basket for an uncontested layup and a 44-40 Mason lead with 5:19 to play.
Later, with a 45-42 lead, Smith again made a fastbreak layup and after his free throw attempt missed, he tracked down the rebound and found Cam Long for a 3-pointer to make it 50-42 with under three minutes to play. From there Mason was able to keep enough of a cushion to hold off the Panthers.
The Patriots return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Towson for a mid-week contest slated to begin at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WTNT 570.
