A solid defensive effort and career performance from junior Josh Oduro led George Mason (5-5) to a 71-65 triumph over Navy (6-3) Tuesday night inside EagleBank Arena.
Mason led by six (32-26) at the break and extended that edge to 12 (62-50) with 5:01 to go in the game. Navy, which opened the season with a win at Virginia, moved within three (68-65) with under 30 seconds to play, but the Patriots got a late stop and converted free throws to take the victory.
Oduro exploded for a career-best 32 points (11-16) to go along with seven rebounds, a season-high three assists and two steals in 35 minutes of work. The Gainesville, Va., product’s previous career high of 27 was set last season in a win at VCU.
“I had this game circled on the schedule for a long time,” head coach Kim English said. “It’s been a challenging few weeks for us heading into a game against what I thought was the best team on our schedule. I loved the guys resolve and I’m really proud of them. They stuck together. I love their spirit. We had our best practice of the season yesterday and it showed today in a really good win for our group.”
Mason held the Midshipmen under their season average from the field (22-50, .440) and turned 15 Navy turnovers into a decisive 22-11 edge in points off turnovers for the game.
The Midshipmen entered the game ninth nationally in scoring defense (55.9 ppg) and 35th in field goal percentage defense (.385), but Mason countered the stout Navy defense with a solid all-around effort. The Patriots shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the floor and received contributions across the roster.
Junior Davonte Gaines tallied 13 points (5-9 FG), nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, while graduate student D’Shawn Schwartz added nine points and three assists.
Mason also received strong contributions from freshman Mike Gray (2 pts, 2 ast, 10 min) and Otis Frazier III (4 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl) off the bench.
The Patriots now take a 10-day competitive hiatus before returning to action on Saturday, December 18. The Patriots will play at Georgia, with coverage on SEC Network+.
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