Jan. 15, 2003

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Senior forward Jesse Young (Peterborough, Ontario/Peterborough College Institute) scored a game-high 15 points and added five rebounds as George Mason dropped a 68-56 decision to visiting Virginia Commonwealth Wednesday evening in a Colonial Athletic Association contest at the Patriot Center.

The loss snapped the Patriots (8-6, 3-2 CAA) 10-game home win streak against conference opponents and moved their record to 48-9 at the Patriot Center over the last five seasons. The Rams (8-5, 3-2 CAA) snap a two-game losing streak with the victory.

Four players scored in double figures for VCU, led by junior Dominic Jones (Chesterfield, VA) who recorded 14 points and six assists. Also in double figures for the Rams were seniors Antoine Willie (Suffolk, VA) and Willie Taylor who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Troy Godwin (Suffolk, VA) totaled 10 points and seven boards.

Junior guard Mark Davis (Springfield, VA/R.E. Lee/Palm Beach CC) registered 13 points for the Patriots, while senior forward Jon Larranaga (Oakton, VA/St. John's-Prospect Hall) chipped in with eight points and eight assists. Freshman forward Jai Lewis (Aberdeen, MD/Aberdeen/Maine Central Institute) tied his career-high with 8 boards.

After a see-saw type battle led to a 23-23 tie with 2 minutes, 54 seconds left in the half following two made free throws from Larranaga, VCU closed out the stanza with a 9-2 run as Willie's 3-pointer hit with 10 seconds left on the clock and the Rams forced a turnover with two seconds remaining.

George Mason opened the second frame with a 7-0 run in the half's first minute, following Young's bucket and made free throw to trim the margin to 32-30. The Patriots would get no closer the rest of the way as Virginia Commonwealth opened a 21-8 spurt capped by Taylor's 3-point play to stake a 53-38 advantage with 9:01 left to play.

Mason responded, however, trimming the lead to six, 56-50, with 3:33 remaining in the game after two made free throws from junior guard Raoul Heinen (Bunschoten, Holland). But a tip-in and layup from Godwin gave the Rams a 60-50 lead with less than two minutes left and VCU sank 8 of 9 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Virginia Commonwealth shot 47.2 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent (6 of 14) from 3-point range, and made 85.7 percent (12 of 14) of its free throws. George Mason managed to shoot 41.8 percent from the floor, but went 1 for 8 (.125) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Mason, who was missing the services of junior guard Richard Tynes (Washington, DC/St. John's/Hargrave Military Academy) after he sprained his left ankle at Towson, got into foul trouble and never could recover as Young, Lewis, and Davis all finished the game with four fouls.

The Patriots travel to James Madison Saturday for a 2 p.m. tilt. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.

Box Score
Virginia Commonwealth (8-5, 3-2 CAA) - 32-36=68
George Mason (8-6, 3-2 CAA) - 25-31=56