By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Dre Smith had played all of 13 minutes without scoring a point in George Mason's first four games, the victim of a deep back court and his team's uneven performances that required veteran attention.

Last night, during a 65-39 rout of Florida International before 4,310 at Patriot Center, the sophomore transfer not only scored for the first time, he was the only Patriot in double figures with 20 points.

"I was just waiting for my time and when my time comes, I try to capitalize on it and help my team in any kind of way," said Smith, a 6-foot guard who scored all his points over an 18-minute 40-second span bridging the halves.

Smith's shooting and explosiveness were a welcome lift for the Patriots (3-2), who had lost at Creighton two days earlier and needed 10 minutes to seize control last night.

"I commented to him after the game, 'Welcome to George Mason' because we hadn't seen that player," Coach Jim Larranaga said. "I told him in the airport in Omaha [after the Creighton game], 'We didn't recruit you because we were hoping you were good. . . . I know you can shoot. You've got to get yourself into the game and playing with some confidence.' "

Smith got himself going late in the first half with a fast break layup and three-pointer, then made another three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give the Patriots a 33-17 lead. He keyed a 20-5 run midway through the second half with 12 points.

FIU Coach Sergio Rouco said he was impressed with Smith's display, but blamed his team for allowing him to get open shots.

"When you don't put resistance defensively on anybody at this level, they can have a party -- and the kid had a party," he said. "The only thing he needed was balloons."

Rouco had nothing positive to say about the Golden Panthers (3-4), whose losses have all been by at least 23 points. "I hate to say some of my guys played like cowards, but some of them did," he added. "They didn't bring their man game."

Despite the final margin, the Patriots were slow getting started and missed six of their first seven shots. But while they were able to straighten things out, FIU was stuck in a rut. It had scoreless streaks of 4 1/2 and 7 1/2 minutes in the first half and finished with 21 turnovers.

Besides Smith, it was also an encouraging evening for Darryl Monroe, who had lost his starting job after failing to rebound effectively and find an offensive rhythm the first two games. By halftime, he had made three short jumpers and had four rebounds -- as many as he had in his first four games combined. He finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

The night, though, belonged to Smith.

"The guys came to me and told me to just go out there and play," he said. "From that, that gives me a lot of confidence when the guys tell you to have fun and play."

Patriots Note: John Vaughan, the team's leading scorer at 17.8 points per game before last night, left early in the second half with a minor ankle injury and finished with five points.

· HOWARD 75, ST. FRANCIS (PA.) 69: Eugene Myatt scored 15 points, and Will Gant made a crucial three-pointer with 35 seconds left, to lead the Bison over the Red Flash at Burr Gymnasium.

Gant sank a 21-footer from the left wing, giving the Bison a 71-69 lead. Jeron Smith and Myatt each sank a pair of free throws in the final seconds as Howard preserved its second consecutive win.

Darryl Hudson added 17 points for the Bison (3-3). Devin Sweetney tied a career-high with 20 points for the Red Flash (2-2).

· AMERICAN 59, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 46: Andre Ingram scored a game-high 15 points and added seven rebounds to lead the Eagles to a win on the road.

Ingram and Brian Gilmore hit back-to-back three-pointers with less than 15 minutes left in the game to stop a 13-4 run by the Mountaineers and give American (4-2) a nine-point edge. The Mountaineers (1-4) did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.