No. 8 seed George Mason came back from a six point halftime defecit to beat No. 9 seed Villanova 61-57 in their second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Mason had been fighting back the entire second half, but just wasn't able to get over the hump until there were about 50 seconds left. With the score tied at 54, a layup attempt went begging, but the rebound was slammed home by Mike Morrison to give the Patriots a two point lead.
Corey Fisher was then fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free-throws, but Luke Hancock then hit a big three of his own shortly thereafter to restore the two point lead for Mason. Villanova's Maalik Wayns then lost the ball on a play that probably could have been a charge, but went uncalled. Villanova earned possession on the jump ball. A last shot attempt bounced off the side of the backboard, Mason secured the rebound and threw it ahead to Morrison for an exclamation point dunk to slam the door.
Over the final 4:39 of the game, Mason outscored Vilanova 15-5, as the Wildcat offense just seemed to fall apart; much like the latter portion of their season. Mason played like the team that wanted it more when it counted, and they come away with a huge win. they will now play the winner of Ohio St. and UTSA, which I think we can safely assume will be Ohio St.
Make sure to check out or main 2011 NCAA Tournament stream for information on all the games, and check out our updated printable bracket which reflects yesterday's action.