Denver, CO -- (Sports Network) - Luke Harangody scored 18 points and raked down 14 rebounds as the fifth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish ripped George Mason, 68-50, in East Region action of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kyle McAlarney scored 15 points for Notre Dame (25-7), which advanced to play fourth-seeded Washington State on Saturday. The Cougars also coasted in the second round on Thursday, with a 71-40 win over Winthrop, the same club which bounced then sixth-seeded Notre Dame in the first round in 2007.

Ryan Ayers added 12 points, and Zach Hillesland grabbed 11 boards for the Fighting Irish, who jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back.

Will Thomas scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the 12th-seeded Patriots (23-11), who failed to relive their magical 2006 run to the Final Four. Jordan Carter was the next highest scorer with seven points for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament champions.

George Mason erased perennial favorites Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut on its way to the Final Four in 2006 in only their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament. This year's visit ended like the first three, however, in a first-round exit, and the outcome was almost never in doubt.

The Patriots held a 7-6 lead after a Thomas layup 1:59 into the game, but that was the last lead George Mason held. Harangody scored five straight points then Rob Kurz drained consecutive three-pointers. Ayers and Luke Zeller also drilled threes, and the 17-0 push gave Notre Dame a 23-7 lead.

"They were very, very sharp defensively early," said Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga. "We had a hard time getting started offensively. And then what really hurt us is they went on that little run where they hit three threes in a row and got a lot of separation."

The Fighting Irish led 33-21 at the intermission.

The closest the Patriots came in the second half was 12 points, after two Cam Long free throws cut the Notre Dame lead to 48-36 with 11:41 remaining. Ayers sank a jumper, though, Harangody added a tip shot, and McAlarney drilled a trey, boosting the Irish ahead 55-36 with 10:31 to play.

"Any time they went on a run, we had guys step up and hit a big shot. Ryan gave me a great pass," said McAlarney of the three. "Like I said, we have different guys that step up at different times. It demoralizes a team when we come down and hit a big shot."

The lead stayed above double figures the rest of the way as Notre Dame cruised to a second-round date with the Cougars.

Game Notes:

It was the first-ever meeting between the schools on the hardwood...Notre Dame improved to 13-0 all-time versus teams from the CAA...The 25 wins for the Irish is the most under head coach Mike Brey. The last Irish team to win 25-plus games in a season was the 1973-74 team that completed the year with a 26-3 record...Notre Dame played in the state of Colorado for just the sixth time in its program's 103-year history. The Irish are 3-2 in those contests.