Senior-Led Patriots Topple Towson

With a 71-59 victory over Towson last night, its 14th straight over the Tigers, George Mason accomplished several feats -- one important to its postseason aspirations, others simply for program pride.

Most importantly, on the final day of the Colonial Athletic Association's regular season, the Patriots (20-9, 13-5) secured second place, one game behind Virginia Commonwealth, and will face seventh-seeded James Madison or No. 10 seed William & Mary on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the league tournament quarterfinals at Richmond Coliseum.

A loss would have dropped them to fourth and put them on a collision course in the semifinals with the first-place Rams.

"We are very confident," senior guard John Vaughan said. "We understand if we go down there and do things that we have been doing at home, which is basically staying solid on defense and making shots and sharing the ball, we will be there" in the March 9 championship game for the third straight year.

Seniors Darryl Monroe and Dre Smith had 13 points apiece for the Patriots, who shot 58.3 percent in the second half to complete the program's first undefeated regular season at home (14-0) and earn a fourth 20-win season in six years.

After honoring Vaughan, Monroe, Smith and fellow senior Chris Fleming in a pregame ceremony, the Patriots struggled for much of the first half before an announced sellout of 9,840 at Patriot Center.

Junior Hairston (19 points, 12 rebounds) had two three-pointers and 10 first-half points, and the Towson reserves contributed 15 as the Tigers (10-21, 5-13) took a five-point lead with 6 1/2 minutes left.

But the Patriots finished the half on a 15-4 run, ignited by freshman Andre Cornelius's three-pointer. Leading by three with a minute left, Vaughan collected Cam Long's pass in transition and swished his second three-pointer, and after Josh Thornton scored in the lane for Towson, Louis Birdsong's putback just before the buzzer provided a 35-29 lead.

The fine play continued after the break, beginning with a three-pointer by Smith, who ended a streak of 31 consecutive misses from that distance Wednesday at UNC Wilmington. Hairston kept the Tigers within striking distance, but after Patriots freshman Mike Morrison brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous alley-oop dunk supplied by Cornelius, Long hit a three-pointer for a 10-point advantage with 14 1/2 minutes left.

Vaughan provided a scare a couple minutes later when, in attempting to save an alley-oop miss by Morrison, he dived headfirst over a table and into the first row of sideline seats. Though he remained in the game, it stirred memories of the concussion that sidelined him for two games in late January. Later, after a timeout, he hugged the female spectator whom he had wiped out.

"My elbow got caught under the stairs, but I was more concerned about the lady," he said. "She was crying. I didn't want to go out [on his home career] like some bully."

The Patriots maintained a comfortable lead and won for the fourth time in five games, building momentum before the CAA tournament.