Dec. 8, 2009

To see postgame comments from Coach L, Cam Long and Sherrod Wright, click here

Box Score

The George Mason men's basketball team saw its 18-game home winning streak snapped on Tuesday evening as the Patriots rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit but could never come up with enough to overtake Dayton, as Mason fell to the Flyers, 56-55 at Patriot Center. It was the seventh-longest active home winning streak in the nation heading into the contest. Mason had last lost at home on Feb. 16, 2008, 75-73 to UNC Wilmington.

Mason used a 17-2 run midway through the second period to rally back into the game after trailing 39-21 with less than 16 minutes to play. A Louis Birdsong 3-point play got the Mason run started with Sherrod Wright scoring six, Mike Morrison scoring four and Luke Hancock and Cam Long each adding baskets. But after Mason pulled to within two at 43-41, Dayton scored on back-to-back trips down the court to go back up by six. The game stay tight until Mickey Perry's free throws with 34 seconds to go made it a three possession game. After Andre Cornelius' 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go pulled Mason to within two, Chris Johnson made a pair of free throws to ice the game with seven seconds to play. Wright hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final margin.

Wright had career highs to lead Mason with 17 points and six rebounds. He was 4 of 4 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line. Morrison had 10 on 5 of 10 shooting. Chris Johnson had 14 for Dayton which used a 10-6 edge on the offensive glass to help get the shots it needed to pull out the win. Dayton had a 13-6 edge in second-chance points and a 23-16 edge in points off turnovers.

With the score tied 14-14, Dayton went on a 21-3 run that saw Mason held without a field goal for 14 minutes, 31 seconds. The draught, which covered 11 consecutive missed shots, ended when Morrison scored with one second to go in the first half to make it a 35-19 game at the break. Mason shot 27.3 percent in the first half while Dayton shot 50 percent from the field. Mason made 10 turnovers twice as many as Dayton. The Patriots did go 7 of 8 from the line while Dayton was 1 of 3, and that allowed Mason to be as close as it was at the half.

Mason will return to action on Saturday when the Patriots host Creighton (3-4) at 1 p.m. at Patriot Center. That game will be broadcast on WTNT 570 AM.