Hot-starting VCU holds off late Mason rally in CAA semis
Second-seeded VCU started fast and held on late to earn its seventh trip in the last 11 years to the title game of Virginia 529 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship with a 74-64 win over No. 3 seed George Mason on Sunday afternoon at the Richmond Coliseum.
The Rams scored the first 22 points of the game in route to a first-half lead as large as 28 points, but George Mason closed to within six points late in the second half before VCU held on to advance to Monday night’s championship game against top-seeded Drexel. Read more
VCU tops Mason, 89-77
The George Mason men’s basketball team closed out the 2011-12 regular season on Saturday night, falling 89-77 to Colonial Athletic Association rival VCU at the Siegel Center. Mason (23-8, 14-4) suffered its first double-digit loss in conference this season, earning the third seed in next week’s conference tournament. The Rams (25-6, 15-3) avenged a one-point loss to Mason in Fairfax 11 days ago, and will be the number two seed.
Senior CAA Player of the Year candidate Ryan Pearson led the Patriots with 24 points along with nine rebounds. Classmate Mike Morrison matched Pearson’s total off the glass, leading a 36-27 Patriots advantage in rebounding, and added 10 points. Sophomore Sherrod Wright rounded out the double-digit scorers for Mason with 11 points, while Bradford Burgess led all scorers with 31 points, one of three Rams in double figures. Read more
JMU women beat Mason
James Madison held its eighth opponent under 50 points as the Dukes beat visiting George Mason 49-45 in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Sunday afternoon at the JMU Convocation Center.
The Dukes improved their overall record to 16-5 and their CAA record to 8-3. JMU’s win, combined with Hofstra’s loss to Old Dominion Sunday, moved the Dukes into a tie with Hofstra for second place in the CAA.
George Mason’s record now stands at 11-11 overall and 5-6 in the CAA. Read more
Mason holds off JMU, 89-79
Senior Ryan Pearson posted his ninth double-double of the year with 29 points and 15 rebounds, pacing the George Mason men’s basketball team to an 89-79 victory over James Madison on Saturday afternoon in front of 8,014 at the Patriot Center. The win keeps Mason (18-5, 10-1) atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings, while the Dukes dropped to 10-12, 3-8 in conference play.
Pearson’s totals were game highs in both categories, including matching his career high in rebounds, as he was one of four Patriots to score in double figures. Sophomores Bryon Allen and Vertrail Vaughns each chipped in 14 points, while senior Andre Cornelius had 10 points. Four Dukes also reached double digits, led by 29 points from Humpty Hitchens. Read more
Mason snuffs out late JMU rally, wins 89-83
The George Mason men’s basketball team maintained a double-digit lead for more than 30 minutes on Saturday night at James Madison, then withstood a furious Dukes rally in the final moments to come away with an 89-83 Colonial Athletic Association victory at the Convocation Center.
Five Patriots (13-5, 5-1 CAA) scored in double figures as Mason kept pace to stay in first place in the conference standings. JMU dropped to 1-5 in conference and 8-9 overall. Read more
UVa. pastes George Mason, 68-48
Virginia had been avoiding games with in-state mid-major powers. Now maybe the in-state mid-major powers will start avoiding the ‘Hoos.
Sammy Zeglinski scored 18 points and the Cavaliers stifled George Mason on the other end of the floor en route to a 68-48 victory over the Patriots Tuesday night at the John Paul Jones Arena.
UVa. (8-1) took control early, jumping out to a 20-9 lead nine minutes in and leading by double digits most of the way.
A 14-5 Mason run cut the Virginia lead to 10 at 50-40 with 9:38 to go, but back-to-back baskets by Assane Sene and Joe Harris pushed the lead back out to 14, and the Virginia defense took the helm from there, limiting GMU to eight points in the final nine-plus minutes.
Vertrail Vaughns, Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson each had nine points to lead George Mason (6-3), which had come into Charlottesville on a four-game winning streak under first-year coach Paul Hewitt.
Virginia got 11 points each from Mike Scott, Joe Harris and Jontel Evans and shot a blistering 60.5 percent from the field.
Wizards assistant joins Hewitt’s staff at Mason
George Mason head men’s basketball coach Paul Hewitt announced Thursday the hiring of Mike Wells as an assistant coach, rounding out Hewitt’s staff after joining the Patriots in May. Wells arrives in Fairfax following an extensive career in the professional ranks, most recently as assistant coach and advance scout with the NBA’s Washington Wizards.
“I feel fortunate to be able to add a person like Mike to our coaching staff,” Hewitt said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge in the game of basketball and it was my desire to hire somebody with NBA experience. Mike has been at that level for 17 years including two NBA championship staffs.” Read more
