Nov. 13, 2010
Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team, led by three double-figure scoring performances, used a strong second half to get past Harvard, 66-53, in both teams' season opener on Saturday afternoon before 6,536 fans at Patriot Center.
Mason (1-0) ran its streak of wins in season openers to eight straight as sophomore Luke Hancock led the way with 14 points, one shy of his career high. Junior Ryan Pearson added 13 while junior Andre Cornelius contributed 10 points. Senior Cam Long added a team-best 10 rebounds and six assists. Keith Wright carried the Harvard (0-1) offense with 22 points along with 16 rebounds.
The Patriots doubled the Crimson in the paint, recording 40 points compared to 20 for Harvard, and Mason shot 46.4 percent from the field compared to a 32.7 percent mark for Harvard. The first half was close throughout, though, as the Patriots largest was just five early on. Mason pushed it to nine after a layup by junior Andre Cornelius with just over five minutes left in the half, and after the Crimson got as close as three, sophomore Johnny Williams connected from the free throw line to make it 32-28 at the half.
It was all Mason out of the break. Leading 39-33, the Patriots embarked on a 14-0 run which spanned five minutes and pushed the lead to 53-33. It would prove to be the largest margin of the game, but the Crimson could not come any closer than 13 as Andrew Van Nest hit a jumper with 26 seconds left.
Mason improved to 3-0 against Ivy League foes with the victory, the first matchup between the two teams.
The Patriots return to action on Thursday night at the ESPN Charleston Classic. Mason will take on Atlantic 10 foe Charlotte at 8:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on MASN.
