FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team opened Colonial Athletic Association play with an emphatic 80-52 victory over UNC Wilmington on Saturday evening. The win, Mason's fourth straight this season and sixth straight over the Seahawks (3-4, 0-1), improved the Patriots' record to 6-2 (1-0 CAA).
Four Patriots scored in double figures, led by a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting by senior Isaiah Tate. Vertrail Vaughns had a career night as well, scoring 14 points with four 3-pointers. Junior Ryan Pearson added 12 points while sophomore Luke Hancock contributed 11 points. Leading the way for UNCW was Donte Morales who had 10 rebounds and eight points.
As a team, Mason shot 53.2 percent from the field (33-62) while holding the Seahawks to 37.7 percent shooting (20-53). Mason knocked down 11 of its 21 3-point attempts (52.4 percent) and out-rebounded UNCW, 36-30. The Patriots tallied 23 assists in the game.
The lead changed hands seven times over the first six minutes of the game, with three points representing the largest advantage for the Patriots for nearly eight minutes. An 11-0 run by Mason, though, pushed the lead to double digits for the first time at 30-16. That run was punctuated by a trio of contested 3-pointers by Vaughns, surpassing the redshirt freshman's career high for scoring just over 11 minutes into the game.
Mason's lead expanded past 20 points, using a 16-4 scoring spree to push the margin to 46-22 inside of two minutes remaining in the opening half. A Donte Morales three-point play ended up setting the halftime score at 46-25, as Mason converted seven UNCW turnovers into 15 points in the half. Hancock led the way with 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the half, including two treys.
Nine of the first 11 points went to the Patriots to begin the second half, and it was all Patriots in the second half, opening up a lead as large as 35 as they cruised to the victory, their sixth straight over the Seahawks.
The Patriots return to non-conference play Wednesday, closing out Mason's five-game homestand when they host Loyola (Md.) for a 7 p.m. tip. That game can be viewed live on MASN.
