GMU (16-11, 11-5) had a chance to clinch a first-round bye in the CAA Tournament and got an unexpected lift from freshman forward Kevin Foster (22 points, 9 rebounds).

But wing players McDowell (19 points, 8 rebounds) and Sumner (13 points, 6 rebounds) had all the answers down the stretch as William & Mary (19-7, 11-5) employed the composure it showed in earlier road upsets of ACC powers Maryland and Wake Forest.

“We’re a team that never gives up,” said William & Mary senior guard David Schneider (15 points). “We’ve been in this situation so many times before. We knew if we could get within range, we could come back.”

On a night when Mason’s top scorer Cam Long (3 points) went 0 for 6 from the floor, Foster was spectacular. His back-to-back alley-oop slams, on passes from freshman Luke Hancock (7 points, 7 assists), gave Mason a late 54-50 lead.

But in the final minute, Schneider scored on a driving layup to put William & Mary up and added two free throws with two seconds left to sew it up. Meanwhile, Long missed 1 of 2 free throws with 29 seconds left and his driving layup in the closing seconds was blocked by Sumner.

“I knew he was going to drive the ball,” said the 6-foot-7 Sumner, who played high school basketball two miles away at Paul VI. “I dropped to the weak side and just kind of timed it up and went for it.”

Before the Tribe rallied, the night belonged to Foster. The 6-foot-7 forward had received garbage-time minutes only, missing five of the Patriots’ nine games. But because of the absence of the 6-9 Morrison, Foster was forced into action.

He responded immediately. With William & Mary up early, 7-2, and Mason looking flat, Foster got a rebound 16 seconds after he came off the bench, and hit his first two shots of the night as the Patriots took an 8-7 lead.

Foster started the season in the rotation and showed his potential, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in a loss to Georgia Tech. But by December, Foster’s minutes were disappearing as his poor work habits had become apparent in practice.

“He really lost his focus on playing basketball,” said Mason coach Jim Larranaga. “His quality of practice really dropped off. It’s only in the last three weeks that he’s been back … He’s obviously earned another look, come Saturday (against College of Charleston).”

Foster’s efforts weren’t enough to compensate for subpar work from Long and sophomore forward Ryan Pearson (6 points, 4 rebounds). Mason was beaten badly on the boards, 38-27, as Tribe forward Marcus Kitts contributed 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.

When Foster hit a baseline jumper with 11:37 left, Mason had a 48-39 lead. But in the final 10 minutes, William & Mary answered with 3-pointers from three different players, including a shot-clock beating two-hander by Schneider, the Tribe’s leading scorer.

“It was fortunate to go in,” said Schneider. “You don’t practice too many like that. I just kind of heaved that one up there and didn’t really expect it to go in. Against a team like [George Mason], you need a couple like that.”

There was nothing lucky about the back-to-back baskets scored by Sumner in the final three minutes. One was a pull-up jumper, the other, a drive down the right side of the lane.

“Danny Sumner stepped up huge for offensively,” said William & Mary coach Tony Shaver. “Danny’s a young guy who’s really struggled for us offensively this year. He’s playing his best basketball across the board for us right now. We needed for him, living 10 minutes away, for him to play that well here. We’re so much better when he’s an offensive threat out there.”

The win enhances the NCAA credentials of William & Mary, which might have enough on its resume to get an at-large berth, regardless of its finish in the CAA Tournament March 5-8 in Richmond.

“It’s hard to describe it – just a tough-minded basketball team that’s shown tremendous resiliency all year long,” said Shaver..

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