Richmond, VA -- (Sports Network) - Will Thomas bulled his way to 18 points and 13 rebounds and third-seeded George Mason earned its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years with a 68-59 victory over fifth-seeded William & Mary in the championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.

Folarin Campbell added 20 points and six rebounds for the Patriots (23-10), who knocked off Northeastern and UNC Wilmington en route to their second CAA title game in as many seasons. GMU's last NCAA trip - as an at-large No. 11 seed - famously resulted in an improbable run to the 2006 Final Four, as they upset Michigan State, North Carolina and top-seeded Connecticut, among others, in the process.

Laimis Kisielius poured in 22 points to lead William & Mary (17-16), whose unlikely run to the tournament final included victories over fourth-seeded Old Dominion and regular-season champion and No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth.

Down as many as 13 in the second half, Kisielius' left-wing three had the Tribe within 54-47 with over four minutes still to go. After the necessary defensive stop, though, David Schneider missed on a runner in the lane, and then committed a foul on the floor against Campbell.

Campbell hit a pair from the line for a nine-point George Mason edge, and the next two William & Mary possessions resulted in a missed three from Kisielius and an unforced turnover.

The Patriots then began a parade to the free-throw line from that point, and the outside shots continued to rim out for the Tribe, who couldn't seriously threaten down the stretch.

Cam Long finished with seven points and six boards for the Patriots, while Chris Fleming scored eight and Louis Birdsong added six.

Schneider totaled 12 for the Tribe, despite hitting just 2-of-9 field-goal attempts, but William & Mary's program-long tournament drought continued, thanks in part to a 38 percent shooting night.

George Mason used stifling early defense to jump out to a 10-3 lead in the opening five minutes, and held a 19-11 advantage with 7:55 to go in the half.

The Tribe got hot in the final five minutes of the half, though, and after a Kisielius three and a Nathan Mann jumper, the GMU lead was just 25-24 with 3:23 remaining.

Campbell scored on a lay-in to push the Patriots lead back to three, but Kisielius hit a contested jumper just before the horn to send William & Mary into the break down just one.

George Mason staked itself to a 10-point lead with a 9-0 spurt out of the locker room, and it was 41-30 after Campbell buried a three just ahead of the 14-minute mark.

Campbell found Long cutting along the baseline for a well-executed lob and flush, pushing the GMU edge to 50-37 with under 10 minutes remaining. But William & Mary wouldn't lay down, as Schneider drained a corner three and Peter Stein got loose inside for a lay-in to quickly trim the margin back to eight.

Game Notes

William & Mary's 19-for-50 shooting performance included a 9-for-29 team effort from three-point range, with Schneider hitting 2-for-6, Kisielius going 4-for-10, and Mann hitting only 1-of-8; it was the program's first-ever trip to the CAA title game...GMU shot 49 percent (24-for-49) from the floor, and was 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) at the free-throw line; the Patriots outrebounded the Tribe, 31-24, and won their first conference title since 2001.