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This Time, Underdog GMU Is Overwhelmed
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"When you get off to a good start, you make the underdog start wondering," Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey said.
George Mason held the Fighting Irish scoreless for the final two minutes of the first half but never could recover from Notre Dame's initial wave. The Patriots trailed by 19 in the second half and never drew to within single digits. Larranaga kept whistling, George Mason kept coming, the band kept playing Bon Jovi. But the Irish never stopped, either.
"Being a part of March Madness, there's nothing like this," Larranaga said. "I'm watching on TV today, and I'm thinking to myself, 'Boy, only 32 teams will be around come Saturday.' I just want to be a part of this. I don't want to leave this thing."
Forward Will Thomas led the Patriots with 25 points in his final college game, showing off his full arsenal of post moves. Notre Dame tried defending him with three forwards, including Harangody, yet none of them had an answer.
After the immediate sting from Thursday night recedes, the Patriots will be able to remember much of their season fondly. They won the CAA tournament championship, something not even the 2006 team achieved, and they won 23 games against 11 losses.
While Notre Dame will face fourth-seeded Washington State on Saturday in the second round of the East Region, George Mason will return to Fairfax for the offseason. Seniors Campbell and Thomas, the final starting holdovers from 2006's magic carpet ride, will begin the rest of their lives.
They'll hope to forget Thursday night, and eventually they might. But they always will remember what they did two years ago.
"We've done a lot here," Campbell said. "It's just bad to go out this way."
