George Mason 63, Mississippi State 59
By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The George Mason Patriots rolled back into Fairfax in the wee hours Thursday night, weary from a month of road games and a series of fickle performances that had left them with a .500 record and critical questions about their future.
The last thing they needed was a noon tip-off yesterday against a well-rested Mississippi State team that had won seven straight.
"It's been a very, very demanding month on this team," Coach Jim Larranaga said. "I didn't know how we would play."
The Patriots answered their coach's concerns with their most well-rounded demonstration of the season, a 63-59 victory over the Southeastern Conference visitors before 7,846 at Patriot Center.
Will Thomas -- who finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots -- made the go-ahead free throws with 61 seconds remaining, and George Mason (6-5) stopped the Bulldogs (9-3) on their final two possessions to secure a badly needed victory against a prominent nonconference opponent.
Having already lost to Wichita State, Creighton, Bucknell and Duke, the Patriots were running out of opportunities to make a national impression.
"This is a big one," said guard Folarin Campbell, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including three free throws in the final 16 seconds to help hand the Bulldogs just their second loss in the team's last 18 nonconference road games.
To this point, the Patriots have been a model of inconsistency -- alternating wins and losses and failing to balance their offensive and defensive efforts on the same night. This time, they were pretty good on both and played with energy perhaps unforeseen from a team that had lost its Colonial Athletic Association opener at Drexel 41 hours earlier.
"We just kept our energy up and they had to play up to our level," Thomas said.
While Thomas's low-post work provided the inspiration, Campbell and reserve guard Dre Smith (11 points) compensated for John Vaughan's second straight quiet game (two points). Equally important, the Patriots' defense held the Bulldogs without an outside basket for long stretches, yielded just one field goal in the last 5 minutes 50 seconds and limited leading scorer Jamont Gordon to 3-of-13 shooting and eight points -- half his average.
"Maybe the guys are starting to understand that the defense is what will make us successful," Larranaga said.
The Bulldogs' final basket came with 1:24 to go, a weak-side offensive rebound by Charles Rhodes that provided a 59-58 lead, but Thomas's free throws put the Patriots back ahead. After Mississippi State missed two jumpers, Campbell made two free throws with 16 seconds left for a 62-59 advantage.
The Bulldogs, who started three sophomores and two freshmen, could not handle the Patriots' perimeter pressure and threw away the ball with 5.7 seconds remaining.
"We knew they were looking for a three, so the big men had to switch on the guards and we just had to contain them," said Campbell, who added a free throw to improve his team's second-half accuracy to 11 of 13.
With only one nonconference game left -- Feb. 17 against an opponent to be determined -- the Patriots will now turn their full attention to the CAA, starting Wednesday against William & Mary.
"I told them the other day that it's so much fun to coach this group," Larranaga said. "They drive me crazy because of the things I know we could do better, but they have a great attitude, they have a great relationship with each other. They are just developing the chemistry and an identity."
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