TOWSON, Md. - Despite having only eight players available, the Tigers seemed poised to pull off a major upset in an important Colonial Athletic Association game in the Towson Center on Saturday. With 3:57 remaining in their battle with George Mason, senior Calvin Lee gave the Tigers their first lead of their game at 66-65. However, junior guard Cam Long answered with a pair of three-pointer over the next 54 seconds as George Mason University (13-7, 8-1) edged the under-manned Tigers (4-15, 1-8) by an 80-71 margin.

By surviving the upset bid, the Patriots won their fifth game in a row. The win enabled CAA co-leaders maintained a share of first place in the CAA standings, along with Northeastern.

The final score matched the Patriots' largest lead of the game as the Tigers hung tough for all 40 minutes. Although George Mason led for most of the game, the Patriots' lead was never comfortable.

With 3:57 left, senior Lee capped off a 9-0 run by the Tigers when he hit an eight-foot turnaround jumper to give Towson a 66-65 lead, its first of the game.

Moments later, Long nailed a three-point basket to give the Patriots a 68-66 advantage with 3:33 left. After the Tigers missed a shot at the other end of the court, Long drained another three-pointer to give the Patriots a 71-66 lead with 2:39 left.

After Lee converted a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 71-68, junior Isaiah Tate rebounded a missed three-pointer by Andre Cornelius and scored on a layup to give Mason a 73-68 edge. With 1:11 remaining, Tate drilled a three-point basket to provide the Patriots with a sizeable 76-68 lead.

Junior Jarrel Smith made a three-point basket with 32 seconds left to pull Towson within 76-71 but the Tigers could get no closer.

After falling behind for the only time in the game, the Patriots closed out the game with a 15-5 run.

"Our guys certainly played their hearts out," said Towson Coach Pat Kennedy, who coached his 900^th career game on Saturday. "They couldn't have played any harder physically. George Mason is one of the better defensive teams in the CAA and we had only five turnovers for the entire game.

"Once we got the lead, I thought we had a good chance to get a win," he added. "But Cam Long got two good looks and he really drilled those three-pointers."

The Tigers, who played without a pair of injured starters, Robert Nwankwo and Brian Morris, had only eight players dressed for the game.

In the first half, Long scored 12 points as he helped the Patriots build a 35-29 advantage at intermission.

Throughout the second half, the teams exchanged spurts. Every time the Tigers pulled to within four points, the Patriots answered with two quick baskets.

With 6:31 left in the game, the Patriots owned a 65-57 lead. At that point, the Tigers went on a 9-0 spurt to take a 66-65 advantage.

 A driving jumper in the lane by junior guard Josh Brown pulled Towson to within 65-59 with 6:13 remaining. When senior Josh Thornton made a steal, Lee scored on a layup to make it a 65-61 game. With 4:43 remaining, junior RaShawn Polk cut the deficit to 65-64 when he nailed a three-pointer. That set the stage for Lee's jumper which gave Towson its only lead.

The Patriots, who shot 55.2 per cent from the floor in the second half, had all five starters score in double figures against Towson. While Long shot 7-for-11 from the floor and scored 21 points, sophomore forward Mike Morrison recorded the second "double double" of his career with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Tate also scored 13 points, setting a new career high.

Sophomore forward Ryan Pearson added 12 points and four assists while Cornelius scored ten points.

Smith led the Tigers by scoring a game high 23 points, including 15 points in the second half. Lee added 15 points and a career high 13 rebounds to post the second "double double" of his career.

Polk, who shot 5-for-9 from the floor and made four of six three-pointers, added 14 points for Towson. Polk had a career high seven rebounds.

Freshman forward Isaiah Philmore added three points and grabbed a career high nine rebounds. Junior Danny Quinn, a transfer from Catholic University who played only six minutes in the Tigers' first 18 games, saw the most extensive action of his career. Quinn, who played 16 minutes against the Patriots, scored a career high five points. He shot two-for-two from the floor and hit the first three-pointer of his Tiger career.

Playing thier fourth game in eight days, the Tigers were playing without Morris, who suffered a sprained ankle at St. Joseph's on Monday night, and Nwankwo, who hurt his shoulder against Northeastern.

The victory marked George Mason's 16^th consecutive win over Towson, a streak that dates back to January 6, 1993.

The Tigers return to action on Wednesday night when they visit Virginia Commonwealth for a 7:30 game.