FAIRFAX, Va. - Sophomore Luke Hancock led a trio of Patriots in double figures with a game-high 15 points as the George Mason men's basketball team downed local rival George Washington, 60-46, on Wednesday evening at the Patriot Center. Mason improved to 5-2 on the season with the win, while the Colonials dropped to 2-4.

Joining Hancock was senior Cam Long and junior Mike Morrison, who chipped in 14 and 12 points respectively. The evening's efforts moves Long's career scoring total to 993 points, just seven shy of the 1,000-point plateau. Morrison and Hancock led the Patriot effort off the glass as well, each pulling down eight rebounds. Tony Taylor had 11 points to lead the Colonials.

Hancock buried a 3-pointer just 15 seconds into the game, part of a 7-0 run which opened the game. The Colonials, meanwhile, missed their first 10 field goal attempts before a Smith basket five minutes into the contest put GW on the board. The Colonials slowly crept up on the scoreboard, getting as close as two points and ultimately tying the score at 20 with 3:30 to go in the first half.

The first GW lead came with less than two minutes showing on the clock, as Pellom's jumper made it 24-23. It was short-lived, as a floater plus a free throw by Cornelius, followed by a Morrison layup left the score 28-24. Taylor dropped in a long jumper with time winding down to set the halftime margin at 28-26 in favor of the Patriots.

Both teams struggled from the field in the half, with GW holding a narrow 33.3-to-32.1 percent field goal shooting advantage. Morrison led all scorers in the opening stanza with 10 points while Pellom had six to pace the Colonials.

Another run for the Patriots started play in the second half, only it was nine unanswered points this time punctuated by a one-handed dunk from Morrison at the 15:16 mark. Following the run, seven would be the closest that the Colonials could get as the margin remained in double digits for much of the half.

Mason opens Colonial Athletic Association play on Saturday evening when it goes for its fourth straight win, hosting UNC Wilmington at 7:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised on MASN.