Guard’s five 3-pointers huge in rally vs. Tribe On a day when its effort was called into question, George Mason turned to its most energetic player.
Senior guard Andre Cornelius came off the bench to hit five of eight shots from beyond the arc, scoring 20 points to rally George Mason from a 10-point deficit in a 70-56 victory over William & Mary before 5,017 at Patriot Center.
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With George Mason (10-4, 2-0 CAA) starting slowly following a rare noon tipoff and falling behind 20-10, Cornelius shot the Patriots out of their malaise, scoring 14 points in the final 8:28 of the first half to give George Mason a 32-31 lead.
After intermission, the Patriots’ starting unit shut down the Tribe for the first 6:22, paving the way for a 16-0 run.
At the half, Patriots coach Paul Hewitt wasn’t happy with the 18-10 rebounding edge enjoyed by lowly William & Mary (2-12, 0-2).
“Steve Lappas always said that rebounding is an emotional, energy stat,” Hewitt said, referring to the coach under whom he served at Villanova. “They were playing with more emotion, more energy. We found that in the first six minutes of the second half.”
After sitting out the last 12:27 of the first half with two fouls, senior forward Ryan Pearson (11 points, four rebounds) fueled the run with three baskets from the lane. Senior center Mike Morrison (14 points, six rebounds) added two more inside buckets before Cornelius finished off the surge with a 3-pointer to give George Mason a 48-31 lead.
“I think it started with [Cornelius],” Morrison said. “He really kept us in it in terms of making big shot, big shot. That momentum carried us to the second half.”
Said William & Mary coach Tony Shaver: “[Cornelius] was sensational. He turned the game. He can really score the ball. He’s got great speed.”
Sophomore guard Sherrod Wright had a block and a steal during the decisive run as William & Mary failed to convert its first 10 possessions of the second half, missing five shots and committing five turnovers.
