BEAUMONT — The Lamar University men’s basketball team, which will be playing in the Sears BracketBusters for the first time in program history, learned Monday that it will take on George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m. central time from the Patriot Center, and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. A record total of 142 teams, representing 16 collegiate athletic conferences, are competing in the tenth annual event.

Lamar and George Mason have met once before with the Patriots winning 65-63 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on March 13, 1986, from the Montagne Center. This will be the fourth game between Lamar and current members of the CAA, with the Cards owning victories over both Drexel and Hofstra.

“It’s an honor to be a part of something like this, and I think it’s good for all the mid-major schools,” said LU head coach Pat Knight. “To be able to go to George Mason, and what they’ve been able to do the last several years as a smaller school, is just good experience for our kids.

“The job that coach (Paul) Hewitt has done at Sienna, Georgia Tech and now what he is doing at George Mason, to go up against a very good coach like that, it’s good for me and it’s good for the program. We’re really looking forward to it.”

George Mason is currently 18-5 on the season and sits in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings at 10-1. The Patriots advanced to the 2006 NCAA Final Four, and are coming off a 27-7 record last season which saw them make it to the round of 32 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

George Mason came in at 102 in the NCAA RPI rankings which were released today, while the Cardinals stood at 119.

The Patriots are 11-1 at home this season. Senior forward Ryan Pearson leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 17.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Five other players are averaging at least seven points per game.

Lamar has five Southland Conference games before the BracketBusters game, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest at Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday.