Fairfax, Va. - A run to start the second half propelled
George Mason to a 70-56 win over the William and Mary men's basketball team on
Monday afternoon at the Patriot Center. The Tribe led by as many as 10 points
in the opening half, but the Patriots scored the first 16 points of the second
half to gain control on the way to the victory. W&M fell to 2-12 on the
year and 0-2 in CAA action, while Mason won for the third straight time in
upping its mark to 10-4 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Freshman guard
Marcus Thornton scored a game and career-high
23 points on 7-of-13 from the floor, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from
the free throw line to lead the W&M charge. Sophomore forward
Tim Rusthoven
added 11 points, while senior
Quinn McDowell and sophomore
Fred Heldring added
seven points apiece. Junior guard
Matt Rum led the Tribe on the glass with a
career-best 10 rebounds.
After Mason scored the opening five points of the game, the
Tribe stormed back with seven straight thanks to five points, including a
3-pointer, from Heldring. His lay-up at the 15:25 mark gave the College its
first lead at 7-5. Following a Patriot 3-pointer, W&M went on a 13-2 run to
take its largest lead. McDowell scored five straight points, before Thornton
took over. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers
as part of eight straight points. His triple from the right wing forced a Mason
timeout and gave the College a 20-10 advantage with 9:26 left in the opening
half.
The W&M margin was seven, 27-20, following a pair of
Thornton free throws at the 3:01 mark, before Mason closed the half on the run.
The Patriots scored 10 straight points, highlighted by eight from Andre
Cornelius. His fastbreak lay-up with just under a minute remaining gave the
Patriots at 32-29 cushion. A Rusthoven tip-off in the final seconds closed the
opening half with the Tribe trailing by a single point.
In the first 20 minutes, the College outrebounded Mason,
18-10, and shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field compared to 44 percent
(11-of-25) for the Patriots. Both teams knocked down five triples in the
opening half, but Mason was an impressive 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from long
range.
After closing the first half on a 10-2 run, the Patriots
continued its spurt to start the second, scoring the opening 16 points.
Reigning CAA Player of the Week Ryan Pearson scored six of the first eight
points of the intermission before Vertrail Vaughns and Andre Cornelius each hit
3-pointers to extend the margin to 48-31 with 14:10 remaining.
The Mason lead jumped to its largest at 19 points, 63-44,
following a Corey Edwards jumper, before W&M came charging back. Thornton
started the a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer, before a Rum steal led to a fast-break
lay-up for sophomore guard Julian Boatner. After Rusthoven scored on an
offensive putback, Thornton pulled the Green and Gold to within 63-53 on a pair
of free throws at the 3:03 mark. Mason was able to keep the Tribe at arm's
length though by hitting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe over the final two
minutes.
George Mason shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the floor in
the second half to finish at 50 percent (24-of-48) overall. The Patriots also
connected on 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range, while hitting 14-of-20
from the free throw line. W&M shot 46.8 percent (22-of-47) from the floor,
but was just 6-of-20 from 3-point range and 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
The Tribe also held a 28-24 advantage on the glass, but turned the ball over 18
times which led to 30 Patriot points.
Cornelius led Mason with 20 points on 7-of-10 from the floor
and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Senior forward Mike Morris finished with 14
points and six rebounds, while Pearson added 11 and sophomore guard Bryon Allen
had 10 points and six assists.
The Tribe will continue it's three-game in six-day stretch
with a pair of home games on Wednesday, Jan. 4, and Saturday, Jan. 7. The Green
and Gold will welcome James Madison to Williamsburg on Wednesday for a 7 p.m.
at Kaplan Arena. W&M will host Delaware on Saturday at 4 p.m. Fans can
catch all the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill
McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg is
the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network and the broadcast can also be
heard over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. Fans can also purchase the live
video stream for all Tribe home games at TribeAthletics.com.
