FAIRFAX — James Madison made the late-game rally a team signature a month into the season, but Friday on the road at George Mason it never materialized. Mason was the team that weathered a wild series of events that started midway through the second half and came away with a 66-53 victory.

The game was chock full the tension that comes with an old rivalry that goes back to the days when both programs were members of the CAA. Four technical fouls were called in the second half, three of them going against the Dukes (7-5).

“We have to handle stuff,” JMU coach Louis Rowe said. “We are a young team. This is part of us growing. We got to understand how to win on the road. And, yes, as a coach, as much as there is so much I want to say, it’s not proper for me to say it.”

Spotswood graduate Justin Kier finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Mason (5-6), earning an embrace from Rowe and continuing his excellent play in his junior season to lead the Patriots to a victory that tied the long-standing series at 47 wins apiece.

Stuckey Mosley scored 20 and Matt Lewis added 18 to make up the bulk of JMU’s offense, and tried to spark a comeback, but the Dukes couldn’t get needed stops on the other end late.

“Emotions are high, it’s a rivalry game,” Lewis said. “But we gotta just keep our composure and focus. We kind of just let it get away from us.”

The big games from players on both sides were overshadowed in the second half as whistles and tempers dominated. Mosley, Rowe and Lewis were all assessed technicals while an official at one point promised the JMU bench “another word” out of Mason coach Dave Paulsen would land him a T as well.

That never happened, but Rowe and the Patriots bench exchanged words after the game.

Rowe remained on the sideline talking with GMU assistant coach Duane Simpkins, a friend, when George Mason athletics director Brad Edwards confronted JMU communications staffer Jason Krech, directing him to "get your coach out of here." Patriots deputy AD Zack Bolno then took Edwards away from the scene to meet with Paulsen.

Through all the commotion, the Patriots coach was pleased with the way his players responded.

“We came down and executed and got good shots,” Paulsen said, talking about the stretch after the first technicals were called with about 12 minutes left in the game. We showed some poise after it got a little chippy.”

Picking up where he left off in the final minutes of Tuesday’s victory against Radford, Lewis came out on fire against the Patriots. The Woodbridge native looked right at home in the Northern Virginia suburbs, knocking down his first three 3-point attempts as the Dukes built an early 15-10 lead.

But while JMU often led by two or three possessions throughout the first half, the Patriots had a way of battling back each time, and a steal by Livingston at the top of the key — Madison’s 10th turnover of the half — resulted in a pair of free throws on the other end to put Mason up 27-26 with less than two minutes to go in the opening period.

George Mason forced two more turnovers in the final minute and stretched the lead out to three points at the break.

The back-and-forth nature of the contest continued into the second half until things started to get more physical on both ends of the court and emotions ran high. Mosley and Kier were assessed double technical fouls away from the ball, giving Mosley his fourth personal and sending the JMU senior to the bench with 12:21 remaining.

A minute later Rowe picked up a technical of his own, part of a 14-3 run to help the Patriots build a 13-point led with seven minutes to go. Mosley came into the game and drained a 3-pointer to stem the tide, but the Dukes were never really in it again, despite holding Mason to 38 percent shooting and just 19 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

Otis Livingston II, who shot all the technical shots, went 7 for 7 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 21 points.

But in so many ways the real drama of the game happened away from the ball.

“Stuckey’s fourth foul was huge,” Rwe said. “It was a four-point game and then they hit two free throws. I’m addressing that with my team, and I’m sure I will have to address it further. There’s so much we have to grow on. That’s on me and it had an impact.”