GEORGE MASON WINS 2008 CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
RICHMOND,
Va. (March 10, 2008) ? Led by the play of seniors Folarin Campbell and Will
Thomas, third-seeded George Mason defeated #5 William and Mary 68-59 in the
championship game of the 2008 Aeropostale CAA Men’s Basketball Championship at
the Richmond Coliseum. It was the fourth CAA title for the Patriots (23-10), but
first since 2001.
Campbell,
who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, paced Mason with a
game-high 20 points and four assists, while Thomas posted his league-leading
15th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13
rebounds.
William
and Mary (17-16), which was playing in its first-ever CAA championship game, got
a game-high 22 points from senior forward Laimis Kisielius, 12 points from
sophomore guard David Schneider and 10 points and seven rebounds from sophomore
forward Danny Sumner.
The Tribe
closed the first half on a 7-2 run and trailed just 27-26 at intermission after
a Kisielius jumper before the buzzer. But the Patriots scored the first nine
points in the second half and took a 36-26 advantage on a three-pointer by
Campbell with 16:43 to play. From there, Mason never let the Tribe get any
closer than seven as it shot 50 percent from the floor in the period and made
14-of-16 free throws over the final 4:30. Campbell scored 18 of his 20 points in
the second half.
Junior
forward Chris Fleming added eight points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting for
the Patriots and freshman guard Cam Long contributed seven points and three
assists. Mason limited the Tribe to just 38 percent FG shooting and
out-rebounded W&M 35-28.
Mason will
be making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999 and first since its
magical run to the Final Four in 2006. Campbell and Thomas were each starters on
that squad as sophomores.
William
and Mary, which was the first #5 seed to ever make the CAA title game, was
playing its fourth game in four days. The Tribe won its first three tournament
games by a total of six points, all on game-winning shots in the final eight
seconds. W&M was just 3-22 all-time in CAA Tournament play before doubling
its win total in this tournament.
CAA
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Laimis
Kisielius, William and Mary
Eric
Maynor, VCU
David
Schneider, William and Mary
Danny
Sumner, William and Mary
Will
Thomas, George Mason
MVP:
Folarin Campbell, George Mason