NEWARK, DE -- George Mason University sophomore forward Will Thomas recorded his second double-double of the season, both against Delaware, with 14 points and 15 rebounds as the Patriots got by the Blue Hens with a 57-52 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

League-leading George Mason (16-5, 10-2 CAA), which also received 10 points each from Lamar Butler and Folarin Campbell, won its third straight game and its ninth in the last 10 outings and gave head coach Jim Larranaga his 106th CAA win all-time, tying the league record held by Dick Tarrant, formerly of the University of Richmond. All-CAA center Jai Lewis, the team’s leading scorer (13.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.4 rpg), was in foul trouble for most of the game and was limited to just six points and three rebounds.

Senior All-American candidate Harding Nana (right) led the Blue Hens (6-14, 2-9 CAA) with his 11th double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and pulling 12 rebounds, while guard Rulon Washington added 14 points. Delaware lost for the third time in the last four outings and was also held to 52 points or less for the third time in the last four games.

George Mason completed the season sweep over the Blue Hens following a 70-56 win over Delaware back on Jan. 7 in Fairfax, VA when Thomas led the way with 13 points and 11 rebounds. This time the Patriots held a big 37-28 advantage on the boards and held Delaware to just 34 percent shooting from the field (18 of 53) for the game. Delaware, which trailed by double figures for most of the final 10 minutes, scored 17 of its 52
points in the final six minutes to make the game close.

After a closely fought first seven minutes, George Mason gained the lead for good at 11-10 on a dunk by Gabe Norwood with 12:27 left in the opening half and went up by as much as eight points before settling for a 26-21 advantage at the break. Both teams committed 11 turnovers in a sluggish first 20 minutes.

After George Mason went up by nine points early in the second stanza, the Hens fought back and cut the lead to five at 38-33 on a layup by Nana with 11:15 left to play. But the Patriots answered with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take control at 49-33 with 8:12 remaining.

Delaware rallied late to make it interesting, outscoring the Patriots 17-8 over the final seven minutes, but never got closer than the final score at 57-52 when Calvin Cannon hit a three-pointer, one of nine by the Blue Hens for the game, with 15 seconds remaining. Delaware, which hit four straight three-pointers in a span of 1:32 at one point down the stretch, missed its final two three-point attempts in the final 11 seconds as George Mason held on for the win.

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