Riverdale, N.Y. (November 26, 2005)- Manhattan cut a seven point deficit to one, 62-61, with 2:36 remaining in the game on a Jeff Xavier layup, but could not move ahead, falling to George Mason, 72-66, tonight at Draddy Gymnasium in the Jaspers' home opener. Manhattan falls to 0-2 on the young season, while the Patriots even their record at 2-2.
Trailing by seven, 62-55, with 4:40 left in the game after two Tony Skinn free throws, the Jaspers scored the game's next six points, with Mike Konovelchick, Jason Wingate, and Xavier each contributing two points. George Mason responded by scoring the next six points to push the lead back to seven, and Manhattan could not get closer than four the rest of the way.
Manhattan controlled the tempo of the game in the early going, scoring the first five points, and leading by as many as nine, 17-8, with 10:31 to go in the opening stanza before George Mason used a 22-9 run to cut the lead to four, 30-26, with under a minute to play. It looked like that would be the score going into the locker rooms before Manhattan's Kenny Minor's acrobatic layup as the clock expired brought the Jaspers back within two, 30-28, at the half.
The Patriots scored the first five points of the second half to push the lead to seven, 35-28, and held the advantage until Manhattan used a 7-0 run, with all seven points coming from Arturo Dubois, to knot the score at 41-41 with 13:27 to play. Lamar Butler's layup pushed the lead back to two, and Manhattan could get no closer until the Jaspers' late run brought them within one.
Jai Lewis paced George Mason with a game-high 17 points, while Butler (16 points), Will Thomas (15 points, team-high seven boards) and Skinn joined him in double figures.
CJ Anderson paced the Manhattan offense with 15 points, adding a game-high eight rebounds. Dubois chipped in with 14 points and seven boards, while Xavier added 13.
Manhattan returns to action on Wednesday, November 30, traveling to Syracuse, N.Y. to battle Big East member Syracuse. The game is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m.