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UD men’s basketball team falls to GMU in overtime 9:43 a.m., March 8, 2004--Dubbed the “Cardiac Kids” by a Virginia newspaper for its season full of hard fought games and improbable victories, the University of Delaware men’s basketball team rallied once again to force overtime in its Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinal contest against George Mason University on Saturday night at the Richmond Coliseum. Unfortunately, the Fightin’ Blue Hens were unable to maintain the late game momentum in the overtime period and fell 65-58. George Mason has advanced to play Virginia Commonwealth University in the CAA title game. If George Mason wins, it will mark the third time in three seasons in the conference that UD has lost to the eventual champion. The previous two seasons, the Hens fell in the semifinals to the University of North Carolina Wilmington. On Saturday, the Hens rallied from a 50-37 deficit with 6:34 remaining and sent the game into overtime on Mike Slattery's driving lay-up with 3.5 seconds left in regulation. Mike Ames, UD’s lone senior, and Slattery each scored 15 points in the game, with Ames connecting on four three-pointers to lead the Hens. Calvin Smith added seven points, and Harding Nana chipped in with six points and a team-high 10 rebounds. “I'm proud of the way we played tonight,” UD Head Coach David Henderson said. “I thought we had the chance to win it when we got it into overtime but made some mistakes and missed some shots that we really needed to knock down. We fought hard and we left it all out on the court tonight as we did all season.” George Mason, which captured the CAA title in 2001, got 17 points and 12 rebounds from All-CAA center Jai Lewis. Tony Skinn scored 14 points, Mark Davis had 13 points and Leroy Butler had 12 points. The Patriots led 25-19 at halftime and poured it on in the second half, taking their biggest lead at 13 points with 6:34 remaining in regulation on a three-pointer by Butler. But that started a wild comeback by the Hens, who held George Mason without a field goal the rest of regulation. UD reeled off 11 of the next 14 points, including four by Slattery, and cut the lead to 53-51 on a lay-up by Ames with 1:01 remaining. Nana and Rulon Washington missed consecutive three-pointers that would have given the Hens the lead, but UD got a big break when Terry Reynolds missed two free throws with 9.5 seconds left in regulation. The Hens took advantage as Slattery stormed down the court to hit a driving lay-up from the left side with 3.5 seconds left to send the game into the extra period. Slattery gave the Hens an early 55-53 lead in overtime with a jumper 52 seconds in for the Hens' first advantage since a 17-16 lead midway through the opening half. But the lead was short-lived as George Mason took control when Lewis scored three points and Davis capped a 6-0 run with a lay-up for a 59-55 lead. After a three-pointer by Washington cut the lead to one, Davis came back with a dunk with 50 seconds left to give George Mason a 61-58 lead. They added the last four points for the final margin of 65-58. To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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