Westhead Is Fired at George Mason

Paul Westhead, who failed to deliver the exciting, high-scoring game he promised, was fired as basketball coach at George Mason on Tuesday.

The Patriots finished their fourth season under Westhead at 10-17, including losses in nine of their last 10 games.

“I did the best I could to raise the level of basketball at George Mason University,” Westhead said in a written statement. “Our coaching staff worked very hard at turning a down program into a winner. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete the task.”

Westhead, the former Laker coach who caught the nation’s attention with his high-scoring teams at Loyola Marymount in the late 1980s, leaves George Mason with a 38-70 record.

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Wyoming Coach Joby Wright resigned after the Cowboys were knocked out in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament. Wyoming was 12-16 this season and 53-60 during Wright’s four years. . . . Siena fired Robert Beyer, who guided the Saints to a 9-18 record and a next-to-last finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Beyer compiled a 22-59 record in three seasons, including a 10-32 mark in MACC competition. . . . Troy Hudson, a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 21.1 points and made 134 three-pointers in 30 games for Southern Illinois, announced he will skip his senior season and make himself eligible for the NBA draft.