Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991                   TAG: 9103040089
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

PATRIOTS, SPIDERS ADVANCE/ GEORGE MASON NIPS UPSTART NAVY

"They weren't the same team that we played earlier this year," George Mason's Robert Dykes said of the Midshipmen, who almost added Dykes and his teammates to their unlikely list of victims in the Colonial Athletic Association basketball tournament.

Dykes scored the first six points of overtime and George Mason went on to beat the Midshipmen 93-86 in the CAA semifinals on Sunday.

Dykes had eight of the Patriots' 16 points in the extra period. He finished with 27 as George Mason (14-15) advanced to tonight's CAA title game against defending champion Richmond (20-9), which used a dominating stretch by Terry Connolly to beat American 78-70.

Navy, which was seeded last in the eight-team field, knocked off top-seeded James Madison in overtime Saturday.

The Midshipmen (8-21) led George Mason 71-63, but made just one field goal in the final seven minutes of regulation.

"We were very, very fortunate to beat Navy," George Mason coach Ernie Nestor said. "They were something else."

Dykes put the Patriots ahead to stay at 79-77 on a layup 19 seconds into the extra period. He added four more points to make it 83-77 with 3:28 left.

In the second game, second-seeded Richmond was nursing a 45-42 lead with 12 minutes left when Connolly took over. Erik Grace fouled Connolly so hard that the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Connolly was knocked off his feet.

Connolly got up, made both free throws and stole the ball at the other end. He was immediately fouled, made two more free throws and again stole an American pass. This time, he fed Eugene Burroughs for a 3-pointer.

American finished 15-14. NAVY (86)

Davis 5-9 1-1 11, Reddick 2-11 8-11 12, Marusich 4-7 4-4 12, Reinhard 1-4 0-0 3, Harris 7-13 4-6 19, Burd 4-7 0-0 11, Cook 6-12 0-0 14, Mickel 1-1 0-0 2, Havens 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 30-64 19-24 86. GEORGE MASON (93)

Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Dykes 9-15 9-10 27, Tucker 9-15 2-2 20, Hargett 7-20 5-6 25, Moran 1-5 4-4 7, Perkins 2-8 4-6 8, Madden 2-3 0-0 4, Arthur 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-71 24-28 93.

Halftime-38-33, Navy. Three-point goals-Navy 7-16 (Burd 3-6, Cook 2-5, Harris 1-2, Reinhard 1-3), George Mason 7-17 (Hargett 6-10, Moran 1-5, Tucker 0-1, Perkins 0-1). Fouled out-Reddick. Rebounds-Navy 31 (Marusich, Cook 8), George Mason 47 (Dykes 16). Assists-Navy 19 (Harris 9), George Mason 21 (Hargett, Moran 7). Total fouls-Navy 25, George Mason 18. A-NA. AMERICAN U. (70)

Gilgeous 8-19 6-7 27, Sedmak 6-10 0-0 13, Davenport 2-3 0-0 4, Tillman 2-4 2-3 6, Wortman 2-9 4-4 8, Hawkins 0-0 0-0 0, Grant 3-7 0-0 6, Rooney 0-0 0-0 0, Palmer 0-0 0-0 0, Grace 2-3 0-0 4, Stevens 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-56 12-14 70. RICHMOND (78)

Weathers 2-3 0-0 5, Wood 9-16 3-4 21, Springer 1-3 0-0 2, Jarmon 1-1 5-6 7, Blair 3-9 3-8 11, Shields 5-10 4-5 14, Burroughs 3-6 0-0 8, Connolly 3-4 4-4 10. Totals 27-52 19-27 78.

Halftime-32-31, American U. Three-point goals-American U. 6-15 (Gilgeous 5-7, Sedmak 1-2, Grant 0-2, Wortman 0-4), Richmond 5-9 (Blair 2-4, Burroughs 2-4, Weathers 1-1). Fouled out-Connolly. Rebounds-American U. 31 (Gilgeous, Davenport 6), Richmond (Wood 9). Assists-American U. 14 (Wortman 5), Richmond 23 (Blair, Burroughs 6). Total fouls-American U. 19, Richmond 22. A-7,010.