George Mason, with chance to win late, comes up short in loss at Saint Joseph’s

George Mason nearly stole a win inside Hagan Arena Wednesday night but could not quite get over the hump in a 75-73 setback to Saint Joseph’s.

Mason (15-6, 4-4 A-10) had a chance to win it with under 20 seconds to play, but could not convert on its final possession.

“That one was on me,” Mason coach Tony Skinn said. “It was probably two or three possessions I went away from some things that have won us some games. We also made some bonehead plays down the stretch that just took the air out of our effort of taking control of this game.”

Sophomore Keyshawn Hall led the Patriots with a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and two assists.

Graduate forward Amari Kelly added 18 points (7-of-13 FG), eight rebounds and two assists, while A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week Baraka Okojie had 14 points (5-of-9 FG) to go along with a career-high six assists and four steals.

The Patriots shot 55.6 percent in the second half and made 7-of-14 three-point attempts. But the Hawks (14-7, 4-4 A-10) shot a blistering 64 percent in the final stanza and 50.9 percent overall for the game.

Back-to-back triples from Keyshawn Hall and Kelly pushed the Patriots ahead 63-59 with 6:29 to go, but from there, a 13-4 run by the Hawks gave SJU a 72-67 lead with 1:12 remaining.

After an Okojie free throw, the Patriots picked up a key steal on the ensuing Hawks possession, and a Hall lay-in cut it to 72-70.

Then, Saint Joseph’s threw it out of bounds and the Patriots had a chance to take the lead with 20 seconds to go.

But Mason could not convert on its next possession, and Saint Joseph’s hit free throws on the other end to effectively seal the win.