Nov. 19, 2009

Box Score |  AP Action Photos 

San Juan, Puerto Rico - The George Mason men's basketball team led for nearly the entire game on Thursday afternoon against fifth-ranked Villanova, but the Wildcats made a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute and the Patriots were unable to get a shot off in the closing seconds as Villanova beat the Patriots, 69-68 in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.

After Luke Hancock's free throw with 47 seconds to play gave Mason a 67-63 lead, Maalik Wayns' trey made it 67-66. Sherrod Wright made a free throw on Mason's next possession, but Isaiah Armwood who played just four minutes and was on the floor after four Villanova players had fouled out, hoisted a 3-pointer that went in to make it 69-68 with 17 seconds to play. The Patriots called a timeout with 13 seconds to go but could not get a shot off on the ensuing possession.

The Patriots played down the stretch with a lineup that included Hancock and Wright, both freshmen, Ryan Pearson and Andre Cornelius, both sophomores, and alternately sophomore Mike Morrison and redshirt freshman Kevin Foster. They never backed down from Villanova, which returned four starters from last year's Final Four team and is ranked fifth in the nation by the Associated Press and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Patriots were without leader Cam Long for most of the second half as he was out with leg cramps.

Mason started the game shooting better than 60 percent while Villanova opened cold, shooting less than 25 percent. That differential allowed Mason to jump out to a 21-8 lead on the nation's fifth-ranked team. Pearson scored nine of those points with four field goals and a free throw while Cam Long had six and Cornelius had five. Villanova came back with a 15-5 run to make it a 26-23 game with five minutes to go in the half. Scottie Reynolds had a pair of free throws while Corey Fisher continued to get to the free throw line. Fisher was 10 of 12 from the line in the first half and finished the game 14 of 18.

The Patriots closed the half strong as Long made a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, Hancock scored a pair inside, Rashad Whack drained a pair of free throws and Foster's breakaway dunk off a Whack steal with 18 seconds to play gave Mason a double-digit lead. Fisher's free throw with 5.7 seconds to play made it 37-28 at the half.

Villanova opened the second half much sharper and it managed a 16-7 run to tie the score. They needed just 6:27 to make up the nine-point deficit and in that span, Mason was called for six fouls. The Patriots were able to go back up by five, but the Wildcats again tied the score, this time at 54-54 with 7:39 to play. Reynolds' jumper with 7:06 to go gave Villanova its first lead of the game.

Pearson responded with a runner to tie the score and with 4:51 to go, Hancock made a pair of free throws to put the Patriots back on top. It didn't last long as Taylor King's 3-pointer from the wing have the Wildcats a 59-58 edge. That's when Mason started going back inside. First Pearson scored a basket, then, after drawing a shot-clock violation, Hancock drove the baseline for one of his patented reverse layups to make it 62-59. A Villanova miss turned into a Cornelius trip to the free throw line and he made both to make it 64-59.

A Fisher free throw ended a three-minute scoring drought for Villanova and after a Mason turnover, Maurice Sutton scored on a third-chance basket to cut the Patriot lead to 64-62. Foster made a pair of free throws in four attempts to set up the dramatic finish.

Pearson led Mason with 14 points and eight rebounds while Long had 13 in just 22 minutes. Cornelius had 13 points while Hancock finished with nine points and five rebounds. Foster had eight points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes.

Mason will take the court at 1 p.m. EST on Friday against Georgia Tech and will be broadcast on ESPNU. The Yellow Jackets are 19th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 21st in the AP poll. They lost to Dayton on Thursday, 63-59. This will be the first time Mason has faced ranked teams in back-to-back games since the Old Spice Classic in 2007, when Mason beat Kansas State before losing to Villanova. Mason also faced ranked teams in back-to-back games in 2005-2006 and 2004-2005.