The George Mason men's basketball team will host Lamar University, a member of the Southland Conference, on Saturday, February 18 as part of the tenth annual Sears BracketBusters. The Patriots and Cardinals will square off at 4 p.m. eastern time, and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com. The game will also be the final regular-season home game in the careers of seniors Ryan Pearson, Mike Morrison and Andre Cornelius.

Mason has met Lamar just once before in program history, traveling to Beaumont, Texas for a  65-63 victory in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on March 13, 1986 on the Cardinals' home court. It will be just the fourth matchup for the Green and Gold against the current membership of the Southland, as Mason is also 1-1 against McNeese State. This season, the Colonial Athletic Association is 1-0 against the Southland, as Georgia State defeated McNeese, 69-50, on November 18.

"We are looking forward to hosting Lamar as part of BracketBusters weekend," said head coach Paul Hewitt, in his first year with the Patriots. "The Cardinals and coach Pat Knight will provide an excellent challenge for our team as we move towards the final stretch of the season, including preparing for CAA tournament play and beyond."

The Patriots are 3-4 all-time in the BracketBusters event, including a 77-71 win at Northern Iowa last season. Including this season's game, Mason's last six BracketBuster games have been televised on the ESPN family of networks.

As of January 30, Lamar was ranked at No. 119 in the NCAA Men's Basketball RPI, and the Cardinals are currently third in the Southland East division at 4-3 in conference play. Overall, Lamar is 13-8 and have four players currently averaging double-digit scoring. Mike James leads the offense at 16.7 points per game while Anthony Miles chips in 14.3 points per contest. Devon Lamb adds 11.1 points along with a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game and Charlie Harper rounds out the quartet at 10.1 points per outing.

Mason, which sits alone atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings at 10-1, has won six straight games and is 18-5 overall. In the latest RPIRatings.com report, the Patriots ranked 102^nd, while the Cardinals are ranked 116^th.

The Patriots next take on the University of Delaware on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m, a game that can be heard live on the GoMason Digital Network.