VCU Vs. George Mason: Sherrod Wright Hits Buzzer Beater For Thrilling 62-61 Patriots Win

The George Mason Patriots and VCU Rams went toe-to-toe in Fairfax on Tuesday night in a war befitting two 13-2 CAA teams battling for first place. It was ugly offensively at times, it was chippy at times, but it was always hotly-contested and entertaining. After Mason fell behind by five in the final thirty seconds, the Patriots would hit three-three pointers in final thirty seconds to win it 62-61. Sherrod Wright would hit a running game-winner from thirty-plus feet as the buzzer went off for the thrilling one-point win.

The Rams opened it up early in the second half, getting eight points of separation mid way through the second half. But Mason responded with a 10-0 run to re-take the lead and set up a thrilling back-and-forth final five minutes.

Bradford Burgess, who was off for most of the night, hit a couple huge threes down the stretch, including one with a 1:17 to go that broke a 51-51 tie. On the subsequent possession, a Byron Allen three-pointer would come up short and give the Rams possession up three with just 43 second to go. After VCU sank two free-throws to extend the lead to five, Ryan Pearson would hit his first trey of the evening to cut it back to two. VCU would hit another two free throws, but a Vertrail Vaughns three-pointer would cut it back down to one. Briante Weber would then split a pair of setting up Wright's thirty-plus footer to win it at the buzzer.

Pearson led all scorers with 24 points and 11 rebounds as the best player in the conference came up big again. His three-pointer kick-started the last second comeback. The Patriots are now 14-2 in the CAA and in first place.

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After one half at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, George Mason leads the VCU Rams 28-27 in what could be the game of the year in the CAA. The Rams led for most of the first half until the Patriots took a late lead. Both teams shot poorly from the outside, and did not get much offensive rhythm going until the under eight timeout.

Vertrail Vaughns hit two three-pointers late to shake a recent slump and give Mason a one-point lead with thirty seconds remaining in the half. Vaughns finished with eight points. Ryan Pearson, the potential CAA Player of the Year, led all scorers with ten points while also cleaning the glass with five boards. Once again, GMU was plagued by turnovers, committing four in the first five minutes and finishing the half with nine giveaways.

Mason will look to carry over the momentum from the final two minutes and limit their turnovers to improve to 14-2 in the conference.

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The CAA conference currently has a three-way tie for first place, with three different men's basketball teams holding an identical 13-2 record in conference play. Two of those teams will face off against one another on Tuesday night, as the George Mason Patriots will host the Va. Commonwealth Rams. At the end of the night, one of those teams will no longer hold a share of first place.

Tuesday night's game will tip off at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Patriot Center in Fairfax. The game will air locally on Comcast SportsNet.

VCU will enter the game riding an 11-game winning streak and have not lost a game since January 8. George Mason, meanwhile, is looking to extend their winning streak to four. The Patriots suffered their most recent loss on February 1 against the Delaware Blue Hens.

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