Tony White, Jr. scored 25 points, including two free throws with five seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winners, to lead the College of Charleston men’s basketball team to the 85-83 win over George Mason in front of 8,370 fans at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., as part of the ESPN Bracket Buster on Feb. 20.  The game was televised on ESPN2.
Charleston led by four with 12 seconds remaining in the game and appeared to have the game in hand. But after a layup by Luke Hancock with nine seconds to go, the Cougars turned the ball over giving the Patriots the ball under their own basket.
George Mason was called for a charge on the inbounds play and turned the ball back over to Charleston, however.  White was fouled with five seconds to go and went to the line, where he connected on both free throws to give the Cougars the four-point lead back.  Hancock drove in a layup as time expired to make the final score 85-83.
The Patriots outscored the Cougars 10-4 to open the first half, before Charleston, behind four points from Andrew Goudelock and Willis Hall, went on a 14-3 run to take a five-point, 18-13 lead with 13:37 to go before intermission.  George Mason responded with a run of its own, outscoring Charleston 18-7 over the next six minutes to take a six-point, 31-25, lead with 7:22 remaining.
Jeremy Simmons (Lithonia, Ga.) rattled off four of the Cougars’ six straight points the next two minutes to tie the game, 31-31 at the 5:18 mark.
Charleston and George Mason knotted it up two more times with the final time in the half coming at the 2:13 mark, 37-37.  The Cougars and Patriots traded baskets the final two minutes with George Mason heading into the locker room with the three-point, 43-40 lead.
With the Cougars leading 55-54 with 10:34 on the clock, the Cougar offense went on a 16-6 run to take an 11-point, 71-60 lead with 6:38 to go.  The Patriots responded, outscoring the Cougars 18-8 to cut the margin back to one, 79-78, with a minute to go.
Goudelock, who ended the game with 15 points, became Charleston’s Division I scoring leader.  He surpassed Thaddeus Delaney, who had 1,564 in his four-year career.  Goudelock is fourth all-time with 1,573 points.
Simmons posted his sixth career double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Leading George Mason was Johnny Williams with 18 points.  Kevin Foster followed with 13 points and 10 rebounds.  Ryan Pearson also had 13 points on the night.
Both teams shot 50 percent from the field, with George Mason holding the 41-32 edge in rebounds.  The Cougars had two less turnovers, 10-12.  Charleston was nine-for-28 from beyond the three-point arc, compared to five-for-11 for the Patriots.  The Cougars shot 73.7 percent from the free throw line, with the Patriots shooting 58.1.
The Cougars travel to Wofford Feb. 25 for a 7 p.m. game against the Terriers. A win at Wofford would clinch the top seed in the South Division in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament. The Cougars have already clinched a share of the division title.
The Southern Conference Championships will be held March 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C., at the Bojangles’ Coliseum and Time Warner Cable Arena. The bracket for the tournament will be set after the final weekend conference games.