RICHMOND, Va. — George Mason is going back to the NCAA tournament, and so is the smothering defense that sparked its run to the Final Four two years ago.

Folarin Campbell and the Patriots ended William & Mary's string of dramatic victories last night, winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship, 68-59.

"We came here with a mind-set that it's really not about the offense," Patriots coach Jim Larranaga said. "It's so important that your defense be a consistent part."

Oh, and a few guys who can score the ball is also good.

Campbell scored 20 points and Will Thomas added 18 and 13 rebounds as the Patriots (23-10) took the suspense out of whether they get a bid or not Sunday. Two years ago, they made their run as the CAA's first at-large entrant in 20 years.

"Sitting at the TV on Selection Sunday and knowing that our name is going to be picked, it's a great feeling," said Campbell, who added six rebounds and four assists.

Campbell and Thomas both played key roles on the NCAA team that stunned Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut in 2006 — an improbable advance to the Final Four that ended in a 73-58 loss to eventual national champion Florida.

The Tribe (17-16) was on the same kind of run in the CAA tournament until meeting up with the Patriots and their smothering defense.

Each of the Tribe's previous three games had been decided in the final seconds, and William & Mary had three heroes to thank for its first appearance in the conference title game in 23 years. But the Patriots never gave them the chance.

ELSEWHERE

Siena 74, Rider 53: Tay Fisher matched his career high with six 3-pointers in scoring 21 points for the top-seed Saints (22-10), which earned the school's fourth berth in the NCAA tournament by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title at Albany, N.Y. Rider (23-10), the second seed and seeking its first tournament appearance since 1994, likely is headed to the NIT.

No. 23 Davidson 65, Elon 49: Stephen Curry scored 23 points at North Charleston, S.C., to lead the Wildcats (26-6) over the Phoenix (14-19) and back into the NCAA tournament with their third straight Southern Conference crown and fourth since 2002.

San Diego 69, No. 20 Gonzaga 62: De'Jon Jackson scored 16 and Rob Jones 15 as he Toreros (21-13) went on a 19-4 run in the second half to take control from the Zags (25-7) and win the West Coast Conference tournament championship in San Diego and clinch their first NCAA tournament berth since 2003.

WOMEN

No. 4 Stanford 56, No. 8 California 35: Candice Wiggins produced her own 13-0 run in the first half and finished her phenomenal conference career with 30 points, leading the Cardinal (30-3) past the Bears (26-6) for the Pac-10 tournament title at San Jose, Calif., and an automatic NCAA tournament berth.

Xavier 47, Temple 42: Jerri Taylor hit two free throws in the final seconds and scored 14 points, helping the Musketeers (24-8) rally past the top-seeded Owls to capture their second consecutive Atlantic 10 tournament championship at Philadelphia.

Chattanooga 71, Western Carolina 59: Alex Anderson had 25 points and Laura Hall 22 to lead the Lady Mocs (29-3) over the Catamounts (25-8) for the Southern Conference title at North Charleston, S.C., and the NCAA berth.

No. 1 Connecticut 74, Pittsburgh 47: Tina Charles scored 21 points and Renee Montgomery added 15 to help the Huskies (31-1) cruise to the Big East conference tournament final by beating the Panthers (22-10) at Hartford, Conn. Connecticut will play Louisville for the title.

No. 23 Louisville 67, No. 16 West Virginia 60: Angel McCoughtry scored 24 points and the Cardinals (24-8) beat the Mountaineers (24-7) to advance to their first Big East tournament final at Hartford, Conn.