George Mason fell at A-10-leading Davidson by the score of 73-62 on Wednesday night inside Belk Arena.
Mason (14-14, 7-8 A-10) trailed by four at halftime (32-28), but Davidson (25-4, 15-2 A-10) used an extended 17-2 run across halves to go up 41-30 early in the second half. The Patriots could not move closer than nine for the remainder of the contest.
Four Patriots scored 11 points to lead the offensive charge, including DeVon Cooper, who made 3-of-7 3-pointers. The group also included Josh Oduro (11 pts, 9 reb), Davonte Gaines (11 pts, 7 reb) and D’Shawn Schwartz (4-9 FG).
Mason returned to form from beyond the arc, making 40.7 percent (11-27) on the night. But the usually reliable interior effort for the Green & Gold struggled, as the Patriots made just 10 of 28 attempts (.357) from inside the arc.
The Wildcats were +11 (39-28) on the glass in the game and finished with a 9-2 advantage in second chance points for the contest.
The Wildcats jumped out to an 11-5 advantage, but Mason rocketed back with an 11-0 run, capped by a Jamal Hartwell II 3-pointer, to go up 16-11. Mason moved the lead to eight (21-13) on a triple from Cooper, but a 9-0 spurt from the Wildcats pushed Davidson ahead, 22-21, with 8:26 to go in the half. Mason went back up four (28-24) after a Blake Jones 3-pointer at the 3:22 mark, but Davidson scored the final eight points of the half to take a 32-28 lead into the break.
The Wildcats extended their run to 17-2 early in the second half en route to a 41-30 advantage. Davidson pushed it to 15 (52-37) with 11:23 remaining, but Mason moved back within 10 (57-47) after a Gaines 3-pointer with 8:17 to go. The Patriots could not move closer than that for the remainder of the game.
Mason wraps up the regular season with a Senior Day affair vs. Massachusetts Saturday inside EagleBank Arena. The 4 p.m. contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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