No matter how hard he tried, Will Thomas could not will his Patriots into another Cinderella win as Notre Dame got out to a quick lead and never relinquished for a 68-50 win.
The fifth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-7) will play at 4:40 p.m. Saturday against Washington State in the East Regional’s second round at the Pepsi Center.
The Patriots had a chance to cut the lead to nine just before halftime, but Folarin Campbell’s 3-point attempt from the corner off an inbounds with 3 seconds to play bounce off the rim and the Irish took a 33-21 lead into the break.
Trailing 7-6, Notre Dame went on a 17-0 run to take a 23-7 lead as George Mason went more than 7 minutes without a basket.
Notre Dame 29-12 lead with 3:32 to play in the first half before the Patriots (23-11) went on their short-lived run.
“To hold them to 21 points in the first half and 50 for the game I think was the storyline of the game,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
Thomas, who was a starter on the 2006 team that was a No. 11 seed and went to the Final Four, finished with a game-high 25 points, going 10-for-14 from the floor. The senior leaves as the school’s all-time leader in field-goal percentage.
“We accomplished a lot in four years,” Thomas said. “That’s where I’d put us: One of the best classes ever to come through George Mason.”
Notre Dame 6-foot-8 forward Luke Harangody, who control the inside despite having a shot blocked by 6-foot guard Jordan Carter in the first half, led the Irish with 18 points and added 14 rebounds.
“A lot of things were going down for me,” said Harangody, who finished 10-for-19. “I just continued to try to rebound the ball. That was one of my main goals going into this game.”
Notre Dame finished with 42 rebounds, including 31 defensively.
