Mason Outlasts JMU in 89-83 Men's Basketball Decision

Saturday, January 14

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James Madison University

8-9, 1-5CAA

George Mason

13-5, 5-1CAA

George Mason

James Madison

1/15/2012 2:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 14, 2012 - After James Madison cut a 24-point deficit with eight minutes remaining to five at the one-minute mark, George Mason held on via free throws to record an 89-83 win in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball game Saturday night at the Convocation Center.

JMU dropped its fifth straight league decision to fall to 8-9 overall and 1-5 in conference play. Mason bounced back after having its 18-game CAA winning streak snapped on Thursday at Drexel as the Patriots improved to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in the CAA, tied for first place.

In a slow-paced game that took two hours and 27 minutes, the teams combined for 63 personal fouls and 89 free throw attempts. Mason went 33-for-48 at the foul line while Madison was 27-for-41. The 60 combined made free throws were the most in a JMU game since the Dukes and Patriots combined to go 60-for-88 on Jan. 30, 1999 in Fairfax. The 89 combined attempts were the most dating back to at least the 1985 season.

Forwards Ryan Pearson and Vaughn Gray (career high) each had 19 points to lead five players in double figures for the Patriots, who shot 58 percent from the field and attempted more free throws (48) than field goals (45). Sherrod Wright added 15 points, Mike Morrison tallied 12 points and Jonathan Arledge had the first double-figure game of his career with 12.

JMU also had two players with 19 points as senior guard Humpty Hitchens (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) and junior guard Devon Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) shared team honors. Moore's season-high point total came along with four assists while going 7-for-12 from the floor and 5-for-5 at the line. Junior guard A.J. Davis (Columbus, Ohio/Harmony Community) added 17 points, six boards and three steals while junior forward Andrey Semenov (St. Petersburg, Russia/Blue Ridge School) contributed 13.

George Mason held a 22-point first half lead at 45-23 before James Madison scored the final seven points of the period. A three-point play to open the second half by Davis made it a 10-0 run and cut the deficit to 12.

JMU kept it within 15 points all the way to the 11-minute mark, cutting it as close as 10 points at 51-41 on a three-point field goal by Semenov at the 16:44 mark. The Dukes appeared poised to cut it further as Moore fed Davis for an alley-oop on a fast break that would have made it an eight-point game. However, Moore was whistled for the offensive foul, his fourth of the game, and Mason responded with a jumper by Andre Cornelius for a quick four-point swing.

James Madison kept it within reach until Mason used a 9-0 swing to move ahead 78-54 with 7:56 on the clock. Madison refused to make it an easy win for the visitors, though, as a four-point play by Semenov started a 23-4 run by the Dukes. Mason's only points for nearly seven minutes came on an Arledge layup and a pair of free throws by Pearson.

After JMU cut it to 82-77 on a trey from freshman guard Arman Marks (Louisville, Ky./Eastern) with 59 seconds remaining, Mason got two free throws on the next possession from Vaughn Gray. Then a missed layup by the Dukes was converted into a breakaway dunk by Bryan Allen as Mason built the margin back to nine with 27 seconds remaining to all but clinch the 89-83 win.

While Mason shot 58 percent from the floor and went 4-for-9 from the three-point line, Madison was limited to 39 percent overall and 6-for-21 (29 percent) from the arc. Mason led in rebounds 37-33 while JMU had 14 offensive boards and limited the guests to six. GMU kept JMU in the game, in part, by committing 21 turnovers, compared to 11 by the Dukes. The Patriots led the Dukes in bench scoring by a 49-11 margin.

JMU returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 18 as the Dukes travel to UNCW (7-9, 3-3 CAA) for a 7 p.m. game.

NOTES: At 8-9 overall, JMU fell below .500 for the first time since opening the season 1-2... the Dukes have dropped five straight league games for the first time since a six-game run during the 2007-089 season... JMU has not topped 40 percent shooting from the field during its five-game CAA skid, hitting a combined 105-of-282 (37 percent)... Madison still leads the all-time series 46-41 against Mason, though the Patriots have won 16 of the last 17 meetings... the 83 points scored by the Dukes were the most since an 86-69 win over Rider Nov. 25... the 89 points allowed were the second-highest opponent total of the season, trailing only La Salle's 92 in the second game of the season... JMU had not allowed an opponent to top 70 points in its last six games after a 79-60 loss to Rhode Island on Dec. 29... while the Dukes and Patriots combined for 60 made free throws for the second time in 13 years, JMU and its opponent last combined for a higher total with 67 on Dec. 21, 1991 against Coppin State (35-47 JMU, 32-37 CSU)... a JMU opponent had not attempted more than 40 free throws in a game since Drexel had 42 on Dec. 7, 2005... the 48 free throw attempts by George Mason fell six shy of a JMU opponent record.