FAIRFAX, Va. (Jan. 13) - Erik Herring was honored for scoring his 1,000th point in a pre-game presentation and promptly added 23 more to his total as the George Mason men's basketball team held on for an 81-76 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Old Dominion on Saturday night (Jan. 13) at the Patriot Center.

It was the sixth time this season the senior has scored more than 20, and Herring added eight rebounds and four assists. George Evans had 16 points and 12 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the year and the 29th of his career. Senior Tremaine Price added 10 points and four assists.

Senior Andre McCullum scored 23 points to lead Old Dominion as four Monarchs scored in double figures. Sophomore Rasheed Wright tallied 15, and junior Pierre Greene added 14. Senior Clifton Jones registered 11 points and 14 boards. Mason improved to 9-6 and 4-2 in the conference, while Old Dominion dropped to 7-10 and 3-2 in the conference.

With Mason leading 76-74 with 32 seconds remaining, Herring fought off five Old Dominion players to corral a rebound off a Greene miss and fed Evans at midcourt. The senior went in alone, threw down a one-handed dunk, stole the inbounds pass and made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to give the Patriots a 79-74 lead and seal the victory.

*He missed the shot, and I went to the glass hard,* said Herring. *I was determined to get the ball so they couldn't get a second shot. Then I saw George (Evans) hanging out at half court, so I hit him.*

The Monarchs hung around with the aid of poor Patriot free-throw shooting. Mason went 4-for-8 in the last 1:22 and was 8-for-20 in the second half. Old Dominion shot 83.3 (20-for-24) percent from the line for the game but was held to 38.8 percent from the floor.

With the score knotted 65-65, senior Terrance Nixon sparked a 10-2 Patriot run by slamming home an Evans missed runner. Evans returned the favor on the next trip down the floor with a one-handed dunk put back. Herring capped the run with consecutive three pointers.

Old Dominion answered, scoring the next seven points to make the margin 75-74 with 1:10 to play. Senior Michael Williams went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe on consecutive possessions, McCullum drilled a pair of free throws, and Wright scored on a put back.

The Monarchs erased a 47-35 halftime deficit with a 25-7 run which gave them a 62-59 lead, their first of the game, with 9:29 to go. McCullum scored 11 points during the spurt, and sophomore Ricardo Marsh and Wright added four points each.

*We knew they were going to come out hard in the second half,* said Evans. *We had a couple of lapses. For some reason, we always like to make it interesting, and we need to develop that killer instinct down the stretch.*

Mason used three significant runs to build a 15-point advantage in the first half. The Patriots opened the game with a 10-2 spurt with sophomore Jesse Young and Evans each logging four points. The Green and Gold extended the cushion to 27-15 with 7:29 left with an 11-2 run, capped by a Rob Anderson dunk off a great pass from Herring.

The Mason lead grew to 40-25 with 3:29 remaining as Price ignited a 13-4 run by hitting three free throws after he was fouled attempting a three pointer. The Patriots shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the half and forced 11 turnovers. The 47 points was Mason's highest first-half scoring output this season.

Mason returns to action at William & Mary Wednesday in a 7 p.m. CAA contest.