Patriots Defeat Tribe, Climb to Second in CAA

By Connect Mason Sports Director Damien Sordelett
Photos by Broadside Photography Editor Courtney Erland

On a night when a successful senior class was honored, the George Mason Patriots had to overcome the emotions and thrills of the pregame ceremonies.

Folarin Campbell, Will Thomas and Jordan Carter were able to walk to center court and realize that this was their game to shine.

However, it was a fourth player from that recruiting class of 2004 that reminded everyone of how special this class truly is.

John Vaughan scored 15 points, including a huge 3-pointer to give Mason some breathing room in the second half, and Folarin Campbell scored 17 to lead the Patriots past William & Mary 60-54 before 5,801 at the Patriot Center Wed., Feb. 27.

“I didn’t want to send my roommates out on a loss, I thought I really had to step up to help secure their final win at home,” said Vaughan, a redshirt junior who sat out the 2005-06 season with a torn ACL. “That was just going through my mind that I really wanted to step up and make that shot for my teammates.”

With a little over three minutes left and the Patriots up two, Vaughan received a pass from Cam Long and drained the 3-pointer, sending the Patriot Center crowd into a frenzy. That five-point margin would be enough as the Patriots defense shut down the Tribe, holding them to just four points in the last six minutes.

The win provided George Mason (20-9, 12-5 CAA) with the best possible ending to a special season at the Patriot Center. The 13-1 home record is the second best in school history. Though, things did not look that way at the beginning.

William & Mary (14-14, 10-7) used a 9-2 run in the latter stages of the first half to take its largest lead of the contest at 27-23. That is when the Patriots finally settled down and began to defend its home court.

“This whole game, [I was] just playing with so much emotion and I was just excited,” Campbell said. “I am playing on adrenaline right now.”

That adrenaline was put to use as the Patriots went on a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead, thanks in part to Campbell’s five points to end the run that gave Mason a 33-27 lead.

William & Mary was able to limit the touches of Thomas for a second straight game. The senior was limited to 10 points and eight rebounds. This may be a trend as the season comes to its most crucial stages.

“It was one of the things that we really wanted to do,” William & Mary coach Tony Shaver said of shutting down Thomas. “He had seven shots tonight and 10 points, so we did a good job in that respect. We played a variety of things against him and it was effective. Cam Long stepped up big for them tonight I thought.”

Long did step up big, scoring 12 points and playing most of the second half. This included a breakaway dunk with eight minutes remaining off an outlet pass from Campbell that gave Mason a 49-45 lead.

Though, the Patriots need to find a way to make sure Thomas can get involved. After only six shots and nine points against Ohio to seven shots and 10 points tonight, George Mason coach Jim Larranaga realizes that contributions are needed from everyone.

“William & Mary defensively does a lot of very good things. One of the things they did tonight was… a nice job of guarding Will; limited his touches, limited his scoring opportunities,” Larranaga said. “When that happens, somebody else has to step up and John Vaughan made a huge 3 at the end tonight.”

Notes: With the win and a loss by UNC-Wilmington to VCU earlier in the night, the Patriots take sole possession of second place in the CAA. Mason has also clinched a top-3 seeding in the conference tournament, allowing the team to rest for the opening round series… The Patriots play Saturday at Northeastern, then will not play again until the following Saturday in the CAA quarterfinals.