By Sam Ehsani (January 14, 2005)

The Mustangs walked off the floor after a stunning defeat on Monday to the Calvary Temple Conquerors, 57-39. Mason senior Will Straub led a balanced attack with 5 points and 9 rebounds, while junior Justin Morrison added 5 points and 2 assists. The loss lowered Mason’s record to 3-10 overall (1-2 in the district).

From the beginning of the game the Mustangs were flat. The Conquerors took advantage of this and gained a huge lead going into the second quarter. Midway through that quarter, the Mustangs began to surge back into the game, and pulled within five points at the half. Yet, once again, the intensity left George Mason in the second half, and the Calvary Temple Conquerors won with easy-scoring opportunities. Every player was able to play legitimate minutes in the loss, after two big district games against Manassas Park and Madison County the previous week.

Junior Travis Greene led the Mustangs with 18 points and 16 rebounds Wednesday night to their first District victory, 63-61 over the Manassas Park Cougars. Big games were recorded from senior Josiah Larson, 14 points and 13 rebounds, and by freshman Mike Schwengel, 10 points, 6 assists.

The Mustangs knew that they had to shut down forward A.C. Fitchett and point guard Alex Rivas. In the end, Fitchett went down with an elbow injury, and Rivas was unable to pull out the win. The Cougars were winning through most of the game, but the Mustangs kept it close until they took the lead in the fourth quarter. Down the stretch, some clutch plays helped the Mustangs earn their first victory in the District.

A heartbreaking loss, 55-52, against the division-leading Madison County Mountaineers, signified the second district loss for the George Mason Mustangs on Friday night. Senior Colin Molano scored 17 points and senior Josiah Larson and junior Travis Greene each added 11 in the loss. Throughout the hard-fought game, there were many lead changes.

Down in the second quarter, Molano scored 12 straight points to tie the game 30-30. In the second half, the Mustangs began to pull away. The Mountaineers began to crawl back with point guard Adrian Jones. With 30 seconds remaining, the Mustangs were up one with the ball. They passed the ball around, running out the clock. The ball swung to Molano and he shot the three. Partially deflected, the Mountaineers regained the ball. They came down and scored. A failed attempt by the Mustangs led to another score for Madison County.