Nov. 16, 2008

Fairfax, Va. - The George Mason men's basketball team will play its home opener on Monday night when the Patriots host Brown University at Patriot Center in a game scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WTNT 570 at 10 p.m. on tape delay.

Mason opened the season on Saturday with a dramatic 80-79 overtime victory at Vermont. Mason trailed by 10 in the first half, rallied for a halftime lead but needed a pair of free throws from Darryl Monroe with 0.7 on the clock to win the game. The redshirt senior had career highs with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 9 of 10 shooting from the free throw line in 38 minutes. Cam Long also had a career high with 16 points.

A pair of freshmen made major contributions in the win as Ryan Pearson had 13 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes while going 5 of 7 from the field and Andre Cornelius had nine points and five assists in 21 minutes.

Brown is coming off a season-opening road loss at Rhode Island. The Bears led for nearly the entire contest before finally falling in the end. Matt Mullery was 9 of 13 from the field to finish with 22 points and seven rebounds. Peter Sullivan had 15 points and nine rebounds but he shot 5 of 18 from the field, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. In the end, Brown was able to force just three turnovers in the game, while the Bears gave the ball away 10 times.

The team urges Mason Nation fans to be a part of the Gold Rush at every game! *Be Bold. Wear Gold *