BOSTON - The George Mason men's basketball team suffered just its third conference loss of the season on Wednesday evening, falling in overtime at Northeastern, 85-82, at Matthews Arena. The defeat dropped the Patriots (23-7, 14-3) out of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings for the first time this season, while the Huskies improved to 9-8 in conference and 13-15 overall.

Senior Mike Morrison posted a season-high 19 points, one of five Patriots to score in double figures, pacing Mason's offense. Sophomore Sherrod Wright added 13, senior Ryan Pearson and sophomore Vertrail Vaughns contributed 11 points while sophomore Bryon Allen chipped in 10. Jonathan Lee had 27 points, 18 of which coming from the free throw line, to lead a trio of Huskies in double figures.

Allen also completed his first career double-double with 13 assists, the highest total by a CAA player this season and matching the fourth-best single-game performance in Mason history. He is the first person to reach that total since Curtis McCants did it three times during the 1994-95 season.

Mason trailed 67-63 with 4:34 to go in regulation, and came back to take the lead after a Paris Bennett jumper with 3:15 remaining made it 73-71. A pair of Lee free throws knotted the score, and after an Allen jumper gave Mason back the lead inside of two minutes left, Kashief Edwards' dunk tied the score with 29 seconds to go. Mason had the ball and a chance at the game-winning shot, but was unable to attempt a field goal as the clock expired, sending the Patriots to their fourth overtime game of the season.

In the bonus period, Lee scored the first three points before a pair of Pearson free throws and a Wright 3-pointer made it 80-78 with 2:25 left. Five in a row by the Huskies left the score 83-80 with 13 seconds left. Allen hit a layup with seven seconds remaining, and after Lee was fouled immediately, he hit both of his attempts at the line. Pearson had a chance to send the game to double overtime, but his 3-point attempt from the right side was off the mark as the clock hit zero, giving the Huskies the win.

Mason scored the first four points of the evening and opened up a 10-4 lead into the first media timeout, connecting on five of its first seven shots. The Huskies answered, pulling within a basket at 12-10, but an 8-3 Patriots run with Wright scoring all but one of those points pushed the lead out to 20-13 with just under 10 minutes off the game clock.

NU chipped away at the lead, tying the score at 22 with a 9-2 run that ended at the 6:45 mark. The Huskies were within three at 31-28 before five straight Mason points opened up the Patriots' largest lead of the game. In the final 90 seconds of the half, Smith hit a 3-pointer before Morrison sank a pair of free throws to set the eventual halftime score of 38-31.

Morrison led all Patriots with 10 points on 3-for-3 field goal shooting and a 4-of-5 mark at the line, while Smith had a game-best 11 points in the first half. Mason won the field goal, rebounding and turnover battles in the first half, one in which they never trailed the homestanding Huskies.

Vaughns hit a 3-pointer less than a minute into the second half to push the margin to double digits for the first time, but again the Huskies mounted a run, this time overtaking the Patriots to gain a 55-53 lead with 10 minutes to go on an Edwards 3-point play. From there, the lead changed hands seven times over the course of the second half, with neither team leading by more than four.

The Patriots will close out the regular season Saturday at VCU, looking to lock up the number-two seed in next week's CAA Championship when they take on the Rams. Tip time from the Siegel Center is set for 6 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast live on ESPN2.