March 7, 2009

Richmond, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team will begin the defense of its Colonial Athletic Association title on Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Patriots take on James Madison at the Richmond Coliseum. The second-seeded Patriots split two games with the seventh-seeded Dukes earlier this year. The game will be televised on The Comcast Network and on Cox Sports in Fairfax.

Mason has won two straight heading into the tournament and the Patriots have won six of their past seven CAA Tournament contests. James Madison had lost two straight heading into the tournament before taking a decisive 70-48 win over tenth-seeded William & Mary.

The Patriots placed three players on the All-CAA team with Darryl Monroe and John Vaughan earning second-team honors and Cam Long earning third-team honors. John Vaughan also earned All-Defensive Team honors while Ryan Pearson was selected to the All-Rookie Team.

In CAA Tournament history, Mason is 3-3 all-time against James Madison but the Patriots have won the past two meetings. Mason head coach Jim Larranaga, the all-time leader in CAA wins, has never lost to the Dukes in tournament play. Mason had won 10 straight against JMU until the Dukes took a 68-66 win in Harrisonburg on Feb. 7. The Patriots beat the Dukes 71-57 on Jan. 17 at Patriot Center.

Long leads Mason this year with 11.8 points and 3.2 assists. He's second on the team in rebounding with 4.8 per contest. He is fifth in the CAA in field-goal percentage, in the top 10 in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and top 20 in scoring and rebounding. Vaughan is third in the CAA in 3-point field-goal percentage shooting 40 percent from behind the arc. He's scoring 11.5 points with 4.5 rebounds. Monroe leads the CAA in field-goal percentage and is second in rebounding. He's shooting 57.9 percent from the field, scoring 10.7 points and grabbing 8.3 rebounds.

Juwann James was named second-team All-CAA and his 15.8 points and 59.4 percent shooting leads the Dukes. He is also grabbing 5.1 rebounds. He scored 12 points against the Tribe on 5 of 7 shooting. Julius Wells was named CAA Rookie of the Year and his 11.8 points are just behind Kyle Swanston's 11.9 points. Wells is grabbing 5.5 rebounds. Devon Moore, also named to the All-Rookie Team, leads the Dukes with 3.3 assists while scoring 10.1 points per game. Pierre Curtis is averaging 8.5 points per game and he did the most damage against William & Mary with 19 points on 7 of 8 shooting along with six rebounds.

The Patriots are looking to become just the second team in the past 17 years to repeat as CAA champions. UNC Wilmington went back-to-back in 2002 and 2003, the only team since Richmond in 1990 and 1991. Navy won three straight from 1985 through 1987. This is the fifth time Mason has been the second seed. Two of Mason's four CAA titles have come as the second seed.