Jan. 7, 2010

Boston, Mass. - The George Mason men's basketball team lost its first Colonial Athletic Association game of the season on Thursday night as the Patriots fell at Northeastern, 71-46. Mason had been the final unbeaten team in the CAA and it now moves into a four-way tie for first with Northeastern, Drexel, Old Dominion and William & Mary.

The Patriots struggled mightily on the offensive end, were hit by a barrage of Northeastern 3-pointers early in the first half, and struggled with turnovers as Mason suffered its second 20-point loss at Northeastern in the past four years. Chaisson Allen had 20 points for the Huskies, making six 3-pointers while Matt Janning had 10 and Manny Adako and Nkem Ojougboh each had eight. Mason got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Ryan Pearson but no other player was in double figures.

Mason shot just 37.6 percent from the field and was 3 of 14 from 3-point range while turning the ball over 16 times. The Huskies shot 47.9 percent and were 9 of 18 from 3-point range while turning the ball over just eight times.

The Huskies set the tone early by connecting on four of their first five 3-point attempts and they kept shooting from behind the arc making 6 in the first half. Allen's stroke hurt the Patriots the most as he drained four treys and had 14 points at the break. The critical stretch came after a 6-0 Mason rally made it 15-15. The Huskies went on a 19-5 run to build a 14-point lead. At the break, it was a 12-point edge. Pearson was the only Patriot to do any damage with 12 points in the stanza.

Allen continued the hot shooting with a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half to push the Northeastern lead to 42-24 with 16:37 to play. The Patriots did not get closer than 14 the rest of the way and the largest deficit of the game came on Northeastern's final basket with four seconds to play.

Mason will return to action on Saturday when the Patriots host UNC Wilmington at 4 p.m. at Patriot Center. That game will be televised on MASN and broadcast on WTNT 570 AM.