Jalen Jenkins was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds as Mason fell at Davidson 81-75 Saturday night. Mason (6-10, 0-3 Atlantic 10) led by 11 points in the second half, but a feisty Wildcats (10-4, 2-1 A-10) team battled back and closed the contest with an 11-2 run for the win.
GAME NOTES: GEORGE MASON VS. DAVIDSON
-Davidson carried a five-point, 45-40, lead into the halftime break after shooting 52.8 percent in the first half. Mason shot 51.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes led by Moore’s 12 points.
-The longest scoring drought from the teams in the opening period lasted just over two minutes as the squads were both shooting over 60% from the floor through the third media timeout.
-Davidson won the tip and immediately converted a trey for the early lead, but Mason grabbed its only advantage in the half following a Jaire Grayer three-pointer at the 17:36 mark for an 8-7 lead.
-The Wildcats responded with one of their seven triples in the period to regain the lead. Mason would tie the contest three more times in the half, but never regain control. Davidson led by as many as eight points with2:59 left in the period.
-Mason exploded out of the halftime break, holding the Wildcats scoreless through the first media break and gaining a 49-45 lead with a 9-0 run fueled by five points from DeAndre Abram.
-The Patriots pushed their lead out to 11 points, 58-47, but the Wildcats responded with a 13-1 run of their own to erase the deficit and lead 60-59 with 10:44 on the clock.
-Both teams battled the remainder of the contest as Grayer drained a triple to snap the Davidson run and put the Patriots in front 62-60 with 9:42 to play. Mason would lead by four, but Davidson always remained close, regaining the lead on a Sullivan trey at 6:05.
-The Patriots would hold its last advantage on the following play using a Jalen Jenkins bucket to setup a 71-70 ballgame with 5:41 to go.
-Davidson would close the contest with an 11-2 run to improve its home win streak to 14 straight contests.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-A strong offensive performance from both teams in the first half saw each party shoot over 50% from the field. Mason held the 20-15 advantage on the glass at the end of the first half and scored 28 points in the paint.
-For the game, Mason shot 48.4 percent (30-62), while Davidson shot 44.8 percent (30-67). The Wildcats finished 12-of-26 from three-point range (46.2%) and was led by the A-10’s leading scorer, Jack Gibbs, with 26 points. Gibbs scored 17 points in the second half for the Wildcats’ only scorer in double-figures in the period.
-Jenkins tied his field goals career-high, hitting nine, to finish with a team-best 20 points, 14 coming in the second half. Moore followed with 15 points as Grayer and Otis Livingston II also finished in double-figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
-The Patriots dominated on the glass, winning the rebounding battle, 46-29, led by nine boards from Jenkins. Moore pulled down eight rebounds.
-Livingston matched his career-best five assists as Davidson dished out 19 helpers led by Gibbs with seven.
NEXT ON THE COURT
-The Patriots return to Fairfax to welcome Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday, January 13. Tip in EagleBank Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
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