FAIRFAX, Va. — Kevin Foster had 24 points, Marc Trasolini had 20 points and Evan Roquemore added 19 points and Santa Clara defeated George Mason 80-77 to win the College Basketball Invitational Finals in three games on Friday night.
George Mason freshman guard Patrick Holloway’s 3-point attempt to send the game into overtime clanked off the back rim as time expired.
Tournament MVP Foster hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining to put the Broncos back on top for good at 75-73. Foster averaged 26.3 points over six games.
Roquemore, an 81 percent free throw shooter for his career, hit all seven of his attempts for the game including four in the game’s final 19 seconds. The junior point guard scored six of the final 10 points for Santa Clara (26-12)
Just one year after going winless in the West Coast Conference, Santa Clara (26-12) won its second postseason tournament in three seasons. The Broncos and coach Kerry Keating won the 2011 College Insider.com tournament.
Trasolini scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half as the Broncos shot 62.1 percent in the second half.
Sherrod Wright led George Mason (22-16) with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Jonathan Arledge added 16 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Patriots.
Santa Clara took its first lead of the game at 47-46 on a Trasolini layup with 15:27 remaining. The Broncos kept that lead until a Jonathan Arledge tip-in with 5:27 remaining put the Patriots back on top at 68-66 after an 8-2 run.
For the game, George Mason shot 41.8 percent while Santa Clara hit 50 percent of its shots. The Broncos had 15 assists to 11 turnovers while George Mason managed just 11 assists and committed 16 turnovers.
George Mason, which went to the Final Four in 2006, played its final game as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. A founding member of the CAA since 1985, the Patriots will be moving to the Atlantic 10 in July.
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