Jan. 29, 2007

Box Score

Wilmington, N.C. - During the 10 seasons Jim Larranaga has been head coach of the George Mason men's basketball team, there has been no tougher place for the Patriots to play than at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, N.C. The difficulties winning at that arena were in no way lessened on Monday night just because UNC Wilmington entered the contest in last place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Seahawks avenged a 21-point loss from earlier this month, downing the Patriots 65-58 for just their second CAA win of the season. Mason is now 1-9 at Wilmington over the past 10 seasons.

Mason (12-9, 6-5) allowed UNC Wilmington (5-15, 2-9) to shoot 65.2 percent in the second half on Monday, a stark contrast to Jan. 8 when Mason held the Seahawks to 8.7 percent shooting in the first half and 20.4 percent shooting in the game. Those shooting woes were nowhere to be found as Wilmington made 15 of 23 shot from the field in the second half.

Vladimir Kuljanin scored a team-high 17 points for the Seahawks with six rebounds while Montez Downey had 13 points and Todd Hendley added 12 points and six rebounds. The Seahawks were 7 of 16 from 3-point range while Mason was just 5 of 24 from behind the arc. The Patriots shot just 40.7 percent from the field.

Four players were in double figures for the Patriots as Will Thomas and Darryl Monroe each had 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Folarin Campbell had 17 points and six assists while John Vaughan had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. But Campbell was just 5 of 17 from the field while Vaughan was 3 of 10.

The score was tied 26-26 at the half and Mason held a 37-32 lead in the second half before the Seahawks used a 22-10 run to take control of the game. Mason was unable to mount any rally in the second half, failing to score on back-to-back possessions over the final seven minutes.

Still, Mason had a chance down three with 2:15 to play. But Kuljanin hit a layup and after Mason had two misses and a turnover, Temi Soyebo made a free throw for a six-point UNC Wilmington lead. Another Mason miss and two Downey free throws sealed the win for the Seahawks.

Mason will just have one day off before the Patriots will retake the court as they host Delaware on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Patriot Center.