Fairfax, Va. (November 25,
2008)George Mason scored the final nine points to hold off
Mount St. Mary's, 72-60, in a non-conference matchup at the Patriot
Center on Tuesday night.
Trailing 56-43 with 9:30 left
in the game, the Mount went on a17-to-7 run to cut the deficit to
63-60 after a Jean Cajou three-pointer. George Mason answered with a long
jumper from Cam Long on the next possession to start the
game-deciding run.
The Mount held a 32-30 lead
early in the second half after a Goode three-point play, but the
Patriots (4-1) went on a 17-to-4 run to take a 47-36 lead just over
six minutes into the second half.
"That was a tough one, again,"
said Mount St. Mary's head coach Milan Brown. "They made a few more plays than we
were able to make. We
needed to make two back-to-back plays on the offensive and
defensive end to make a run."
Goode finished with 22 points
and five assists while Cajou added 16 points for the Mount. John Vaughan led George Mason
with 22 points while Ryan Pearson pitched in 14 points off the
bench.
The Mount struggled at the foul
line in the game, making just 6-of-17 (.353) overall at the charity
stripe, including 3-for-12 (.250) in the second half. George Mason shot 68.0 percent from
the floor in the second half to finish 29-of-51 (.569) from the
field in the game.
In the first half, the Mount
jumped to a 10-2 lead five minutes into the contest after
back-to-back buckets from Beidler. Trailing 11-4, the Patriots responded
with a 13-to-4 to take a two-point advantage. George Mason held a 23-22 lead when
Goode drove the lane, scored, and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Beidler
followed with a putback for a four-point play.
George Mason's Monroe tapped in
a miss with 12 seconds left in the half to give the Patriots a
one-point lead, but Goode drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer
from straight away for a 29-27 halftime lead.
Goode was 6-for-7 from the
field and 2-for-3 from three-point range in scoring 17 first-half
points. Each team went
12-for-26 (.462) from the field in the first half while George
Mason held a 16-to-14 advantage on the boards.
Game Notes...This was the first
meeting between the teams since 1991...The Mount has not defeated
George Mason since a 65-63 victory on Jan. 23, 1978...