Feb. 21, 2009

Box Score

Creighton, Neb. - The George Mason men's basketball team took to the road on Saturday night to play in the ESPNU BracketBusters and their reward for an appearance on national television was a trip to the Missouri Valley Conference's first-place team. The Creighton Bluejays and the Patriots met for the third time in the past four years and the result was no different from the previous meetings as Mason suffered a 76-63 loss in Omaha in front of a crowd of 17,411.

Mason had a defensive lapse early in the second half that allowed Creighton to build a comfortable lead but in the closing minutes, Mason brought the game to within single digits before the Bluejays held on for the win. Cam Long had 23 points while John Vaughan had 12, but the rest of the Patriots shot just 10 of 33 from the field. Booker Woodfox had 22 to lead Creighton. The nation's leader in 3-point percentage entering the game with 50 percent shooting was 5 of 6 from behind the arc and 8 of 10 overall.

The first half saw neither team create any separation as the lead changed seven times and the score was tied twice. Mason took an early 7-3 lead and Creighton led by three several times, including at the half when the Bluejays were up 30-27. Mason had a slightly better shooting percentage from the field and 3-point range, but Creighton had an edge in turnovers and offensive rebounds. Long and Woodfox cancelled each other out with 11 points each in the half.

The second half was a completely different story. The Bluejays opened the frame with a 11-2 run to build a 12-point lead as Mason made just one of its first seven shots in the half. Creighton was able to slowly build on its lead and Woodfox' back-to-back 3-pointers made it a 49-34 game with 12:30 to play. After trailing by as many as 17, Mason was able to pull to within eight with 5:22 to go on a pair of Louis Birdsong free throws. With less than three minutes to play, Mason pulled to within six but Creighton answered with a 4-0 run and the Patriots weren't able to get as close again.

The crowd of 17,411 was the fourth-best in Creighton school history. When Mason visited two years ago, the crowd of 15,445 was, at the time, the sixth-best in school history. After winning its first two BracketBuster games, Mason has now lost its past three.

The Patriots return to action on Wednesday when they travel to UNC Wilmington for their penultimate regular-season game. Mason and the Seahawks will tip at 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on MASN and broadcast on WWRC 1260.