George Mason 66, Florida Atlantic 51

Published Nov. 27, 2010 11:49 p.m. ET

foxsports

Mike Morrison's big second half paced a balanced scoring attack as George Mason defeated Florida Atlantic 66-51 on Saturday.

Morrison scored 14 of his 18 points after halftime and shot 8 for 10 from the field for the Patriots (4-2), who had four players in double figures. The junior added seven rebounds and three blocked shots as George Mason won its second straight and remained unbeaten at home.

Greg Gantt had 15 points to lead Florida Atlantic (3-4), which suffered its third straight loss.

Luke Hancock had 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists while Cam Long and Ryan Pearson each added 10 points for George Mason. The Patriots shot 58 percent (26 for 48) from the field, getting several easy baskets behind good ball movement that resulted in assists on 17 of their 26 baskets.

The Patriots' defensive pressure gave Florida Atlantic trouble throughout, as the Owls committed 14 turnovers and shot just 38 percent (20 for 53) while being held 15 points below their previous season low in points scored.

Florida Atlantic was just 4 of 17 on 3-point attempts and suffered a big blow when Brett Royster, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference, fouled out with 9:43 remaining.

George Mason held a 34-23 advantage at halftime and never saw its lead dip to single-digits in the second half.