FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason kept a couple of records intact by handing the Tigers an 84-58 loss Thursday night in a Colonial Athletic Association game that had been postponed because of Wednesday's storm.
The Patriots (16-5, 8-2) ran their unbeaten home record to 9-0 for 2010-11 and improved their series record against the Tigers to 29-8. It was GMU's 17th straight win over Towson.
The loss extends Towson's losing streak to nine and keeps the Tigers (4-16, 0-10) winless in the league.
"The first 17 minutes I was pleased obviously with a 23-20 lead," said Tiger head coach Pat Kennedy. "We were on a bus for 12 hours yesterday and we just weren't sharp. They made a couple of very good runs. That's a team with a lot of good weapons."
The Tigers held a lead for most of the first half, ahead by as many as five points early. Isaiah Philmore's bucket with 4:10 left in the opening session put Towson ahead by three, 23-20. But it stopped there for the Tigers, who didn't score again until the 16:00 mark of the second half.
That's when George Mason picked up the pace and went on a 15-0 run that sent the Patriots into the lockeroom with a 35-23 lead at the break. Poor shooting (8 of 22 from the field) by the Tigers and a lost battle off the boards with the Patriots outrebounding them 35-23 contributed to the damage.
George Mason's run spilled over into the second half. The ball just wouldn't fall for the Tigers until Philmore scored on a layup with 16:00 left in the game to end an 8:10 scoring drought. That stopped the Patriots' run at 23-0. It was a momentary pause, though. GMU scored five unanswered points to gain a 23-point lead, 48-25 at the 15:14 mark.
Erique Gumbs came off the bench and seemed to energize Towson. With him on the floor the Tigers cut GMU's lead to 13, 50-37. But Gumbs fouled out with 11:02 left in the contest. With Gumbs gone Towson lost some of its fizzle.
Over the next three minutes the Patriots went on a 17-0 run that broke the Tigers' spirit. With 4:29 left in the contest Vertrail Vaughn sank a three pointer that gave George Mason its largest lead, 82-49.
The Tigers were led by RaShawn Polk's 19 points off the bench. Brian Morris was the only other Towson player in double figures with 10 points. Philmore finished with 6 points and a game high 10 rebounds. Braxton Dupree was limited to just 23 minutes, scoring four points and hauling in four rebounds.
Luke Hancock led the Patriots the 19 points. Andre Collins added 15 points, all on three-pointers.
The Tigers are back in action again Saturday when they travel to Norfolk for a 5:00 p.m. CAA date with Old Dominion. The game will be televised on ESPNU and carried back to Towson on WTMD (89.7 FM) Radio.
