Ryan Pearson posted his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds as George Mason routed Monmouth (N.J.) 71-39 on Tuesday night.
Vertrail Vaughns added 12 points, all coming from beyond the arc, for the Patriots, who hit 8 of 11 3-pointers.
George Mason (2-1) bounced back from a 79-76 overtime loss to Florida International by taking an 8-0 lead in the consolation round of the 2011 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.
After the Patriots pushed ahead 24-12 at the 8:56 mark, the Hawks put together a 5-0 spurt on three points from Andrew Nicholas and Mike Myers Keitt's drive down the lane to make it 24-17 with 5:04 left.
George Mason answered with a 12-0 run and ended the half on a 16-4 spurt to take a 40-21 lead at the break.
Ed Waite tallied 12 rebounds and nine points to lead Monmouth (0-3).
