Jan. 16, 2010

VIDEO highlights and post-game comments/Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. - Andre Cornelius and Cam Long both tied career highs and the Patriots led from start to finish as Mason snapped its recent road woes, beating James Madison in Harrisonburg, 82-71. The Patriots led by as many as 15 and as few as three late in the second half but a technical on the JMU fans helped Mason stymie a Dukes rally. With the win, the Patriots remained in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Ahead 66-62 with 5:13 to play, Denzel Bowles went to the line to shoot two free throws. Just before his first attempt, a James Madison fan threw food onto the court. The fan was removed from the arena, Bowles first attempt was taken away and Long shot a pair of technical fouls to put the Patriots ahead by six. The Dukes pulled to within three with 3:27 to play but Mason went on a 7-0 run that helped ice the win.

Long had 24 points, the third time he's reached that mark in his career and he added three rebounds and three assists. Cornelius had 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Ryan Pearson had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists while Mike Morrison had nine points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block while playing excellent defense on Bowles, who entered the game averaging 23.4 points 10.3 rebounds. He finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Julius Wells led JMU with 21 points.

The Patriots (11-7, 6-1) opened the game on a 17-4 run that saw Andre Cornelius hit a pair of 3-pointers and a fastbreak layup in the first four minutes. Cam Long added a 3-pointers and Luke Hancock's alley-oop dunk on an inbound play capped the run. From that point until the end of the half, the Dukes (8-9, 2-5) outplayed the Patriots, outscoring Mason 27-19 to make it a 36-31 halftime lead. James Madison outrebounded Mason 14-8 and the Patriots had no offensive boards while JMU had six.

Mason has won 21 of the past 26 games between the rivals as well as 12 of the past 13. Mason will return to action on Tuesday when the Patriots play the second of three straight road games. Mason will play at Hofstra at 7 p.m. that night in a game televised on ESPNU and broadcast on WTNT 570 AM.