March 16, 2010

Box Score

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team held a 27-point lead on Fairfield with 16 minutes to play at home in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. A win and a trip to next week's quarterfinal round seemed all but inevitable. But that was until Mike Evanovich heated up. The redshirt senior torched the Patriots for 32 points, making a school-record nine 3-pointers including three in the final 1:05 of regulation. His final one, which came with less than a second to play, forced overtime where Fairfield was able to take a 101-96 win, ending Mason's season.

Mason (17-15) got career highs from Andre Cornelius, Mike Morrison and Isaiah Tate while Cornelius and Tate had career highs in rebounds as well. Luke Hancock had a career high in assists becoming the first Mason player to reach double figures in that category since Folarin Campbell on Feb. 25, 2006. The well-balanced team play led to a 63-36 lead early in the second half. That's when Fairfield mounted its comeback.

Morrison finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, Cornelius had 28 points and nine rebounds, Tate added 14 points and nine boards while Hancock had 11 assists. Ryan Pearson also scored in double figures finishing with 16 points. Derek Needham, the MAAC Rookie of the Year who averaged better than 16 points and five rebounds per game finished with 21 points and seven assists for the Stags (23-10), who were runners-up in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season. Anthony Johnson had 25 points and 11 rebounds as Mason has lost four straight home games in a single season for the first time under head coach Jim Larranaga.

The game was close in the first 14 minutes before the Patriots put together one of their better runs of the season. Leading 27-24 with seven minutes to play, Mason began a 22-6 run to close the half, scoring inside and outside while playing terrific defense. The run began with a Cornelius 3-pointer, then Hancock, Morrison, Tate and Pearson scored inside. Another Morrison basket and free throw made it 41-27 with 3:16 to go in the half. After a pair of Needham free throws made it 43-30 with 1:16 to go, Mason closed the half with a Cornelius 3-pointer and a Morrison basket and free throw to make it 49-30.

It was the second-largest lead for Mason at a half this season (the Patriots led Delaware by 21) and the third-most points in a half all year (the Patriots had 52 in the first half against VMI and that same total in the second half at Hofstra). Morrison had 19 points and seven rebounds at the half, Cornelius had 15 points and six rebounds, Tate had seven points and seven rebounds and Hancock had six assists.

The Patriots went ahead 63-36 with 16:00 to play and then the offense stagnated as the Patriots allowed a 12-4 run that brought the Stags back to within 20. An Evanovich 3-pointer with nine minute to play made it 72-57, the closest Fairfield had been since late in the first half. Later, facing the same deficit, Needham made a pair of free throws to make it a 13-point game. After a Morrison dunk, Evanovich hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 74-65 with six minutes to play.

Hancock hit three free throws to push it back to 12 but Johnson answered with a pair from the charity stripe to make it a 10-point game heading into the final five minutes. It didn't stay 10 for long as Evanovich again hit a 3-pointer, this time to make it 77-70 with 4:58 to go. After the teams traded 3-pointers, the Patriots were able to score off the fastbreak to go ahead 82-73 with three minutes to play. Mason pushed it back to 10 with a Hancock free throw but Johnson made a pair of free throws to make it 83-75 with two minutes to play. Fairfield trimmed it to 84-78 with a minute to play, then made it 85-81 with 34 seconds to go. Cornelius missed a pair of free throws and Fairfield got an NBA 3-pointer from Evanovich to make it a one-point game with 27.2 to play. After Ryan Pearson made two free throws with 19.6 seconds to play, Fairfield missed a 3-pointer but got the deadball rebound. That set up another Evanovich 3-pointer from NBA range to tie the score with a second to play.

In overtime, Fairfield led 94-93 with 1:34 to play when Johnson scored inside, then Needham made a pair of free throws to make it 98-83 with 35 seconds to play. Andre Cornelius' layup cut it to three but Mason got not closer.

The Patriots played without Cam Long, their leading scorer and a second-team All-CAA selection. He was suspended for the game. Kevin Foster was also unavailable as the redshirt freshman decided to transfer. None of Mason's starters graduate and only one, Louis Birdsong, has exhausted his eligibility.