George Mason improved to 5-0 for the first time in school history with a gritty 65-61 triumph over Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday night inside EagleBank Arena.
It wasn’t pretty, but the mark of growth for a young team is winning when shots aren’t falling. That was certainly the case Tuesday, when Mason shot just 27.6 percent from the floor and made just two field goals over the final 14 minutes of the contest.
But the Patriots didn’t let the misses get to them and drew contact to get to the line throughout the half. Mason made 24-of-29 free throw attempts (.828) in the deciding second stanza.
Mason will now take an unblemished 5-0 record into College Park on Friday night for a matchup against sixth-ranked Maryland.
“We talk a lot about being able to win when we have our ‘A’ game and win when we look ugly offensively,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “I tell our guys a lot that we’re built to win 52-50 or 82-50. We showed a lot of grit and toughness. I’m proud of them for their effort tonight.”
Mason also grinded out the win on the strength of crashing the glass. The Patriots grabbed a whopping 23 offensive rebounds – which led to an 18-8 edge in second chance points – and enjoyed a +19 (51-32) advantage overall in rebounding over the Greyhounds. The Patriots gave up six offensive rebounds to Loyola in the first half, but just two in the second. The Patriots also hit seven 3-pointers and shot 35 percent from deep.
Sophomore Jordan Miller led Mason with a game-high 23 points (11-13 FT) to go along with eight rebounds in 35 minutes. It marked Miller’s second 20+ effort in the past three games.
Redshirt-junior AJ Wilson added his second double-double of the season (12 points, 11 rebounds) while grabbing nine offensive boards for the second time this campaign. Coming into the game in the top-50 nationally in offensive boards, Wilson should climb significantly in that category come Wednesday.
Javon Greene reached double figures for the fifth time in as many games with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It marked his second-career double-double.
Sophomore point guard Jamal Hartwell II added nine points and four assists in 37 minutes.
The two teams played to an 11-11 tie, before Mason used a 4-0 spurt to go up 21-16 at the 5:31 mark of the first half. Mason remained in front by five at 23-18 and took a 26-22 edge into the break.
Loyola tied it up at 26-26 early in the second half, but a 6-0 spurt by the Patriots made it 37-30 at the 15:53 mark. The Greyhounds moved back within two at 39-37, then took a 4-point lead (44-40) with 11:27 to go on the strength of a 7-0 run.
Mason came right back with a 6-0 spurt to go up 46-44 and led 52-48 with 5:21 to play.
The Patriots extended the edge to 59-52 at the 2:18 mark after two free throws from Javon Greene and a big 3 from AJ Wilson, but Loyola would not go away. The Greyhounds scored six-straight points to move within one (59-58) with 1:01 to go.
On the ensuing possession, Jordan Miller was fouled and hit both free throws. Then after a stop, Xavier Johnson was fouled and also hit two freebies to make it 63-58. After a Loyola 3-pointer with eight seconds left made it 63-61, Miller iced the game with two big free throws in the final eight seconds.
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Chris Graham
