Defense Helps GMU Return to Title Game

George Mason 53, UNC Wilmington 41

RICHMOND, March 9 -- In the second half of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament semifinal Sunday evening at Richmond Coliseum, George Mason's best outside shooter was on the bench flexing his left knee. The offense was being operated by a freshman point guard and the usually influential senior forward was attracting two, and sometimes three, defenders.

The Patriots had missed every shot in the first six-plus minutes of the half and were on their way to going almost the last eight minutes without a field goal.

But when the final buzzer sounded, signaling the end to an unsightly performance by both teams after halftime, third-seeded Mason had managed a 53-41 victory over No. 2 North Carolina Wilmington and a second consecutive berth in the championship game.

The manner in which the Patriots (22-10) accomplished it was almost as unlikely as whom they will face in the final: No. 5 William & Mary, which shocked top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth, 56-54, on Laimis Kisielius's eight-footer with three seconds left for the Tribe's third straight dramatic victory.

Beaten twice by the Seahawks (20-13) in the regular season, the Patriots limited the CAA's best shooting team to 22 percent accuracy in the second half and 28 overall. They held nemeses Todd Hendley and Chad Tomko to a combined two points on 1-of-15 shooting and confounded an opponent that scored 42 points on 67 percent accuracy in the first half of a quarterfinal victory over Delaware.

"Our guys just worked so hard at limiting their opportunities that we were able to control the game with our defense," Coach Jim Larranaga said of his Patriots, who held Northeastern to 52 points in Saturday's quarterfinals.

The other key on this night was Mason's complementary players. While Will Thomas managed just three field goal attempts and finished with six points to go with 14 rebounds, Louis Birdsong and Chris Fleming filled the void. Birdsong, a sophomore, had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds. Fleming, a junior averaging a little more than one point per game, made all three of his shots for six points and did an admirable defensive job on UNCW power forward Vladimir Kuljanin (10 points, 11 rebounds).

"I just try to be physical with him and be a little quicker," Fleming said. "I actually try to do some of the things he does with pump fakes and moves to the basket."

The Patriots also received assistance from freshman point guard Cam Long, who had four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 32 minutes. He helped offset the absence of Dre Smith, who sat out the second half because of a knee injury after making three long-range shots. Smith, who has been in a terrible slump since making an NCAA record 10 of 10 three-pointers against James Madison on Jan. 19, said he could have returned late in the game and that he will be available Monday.

The Patriots took the lead to stay about seven minutes into the game and were ahead by six at halftime. In the second half, if not for their defense and UNCW's wayward shooting, they would have been in deep trouble. Folarin Campbell's baseline jumper at the 13:41 mark was the first of only four Mason field goals in the half, but the Seahawks stumbled as well.

"They disrupted us all night, and we could never quite get into a flow," UNCW Coach Benny Moss said. "We missed a golden opportunity [early in the second half.] . . . Our offensive woes just didn't allow us to make up any ground."

The Seahawks did get within three, but Campbell and Fleming combined for nine points and Birdsong hit a 16-footer -- the Patriots' final field goal of the game -- to provide a 44-35 lead. The margin never dropped below six the rest of the way.

"We knew we could beat them," Campbell said, reflecting on the losses to the Seahawks by a combined five points. "I thought we didn't play defense in the first two games in the second half. Just playing some terrific defense [Sunday] and everything changed."

¿ WILLIAM & MARY 56, VCU 54: Kisielius's winning shot capped a wild final minute as the Tribe (17-15) reached a league final for the first time since the 1983 ECAC South championship game.

Kisielius (23 points) broke a 51-51 tie with a three-pointer at the 49-second mark, but Jamal Shuler answered with a three 11 seconds later. After Kisielius's go-ahead shot, Brandon Rozzell missed a three-pointer for the Rams (24-7), who became the first top seed to fail to win the title since 2001.

In Friday's first round, the Tribe avoided an upset against 12th-seeded Georgia State on David Schneider's three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left. On Saturday, Nathan Mann hit a three-pointer with 7.5 seconds to go to down No. 4 Old Dominion.