George Mason is 6-1 for the first time in 12 years after pulling out a gritty 60-53 victory over former conference rival ODU on Monday evening inside John Gray Gymnasium.
In Mason’s opening game of the Cayman Islands Classic, the Patriots put together arguably their strongest defensive effort of the season, holding ODU to just 28.6 percent (8-28) in the deciding second half and 35.8 percent (19-53) for the game.
What’s more, Mason controlled the glass against a Monarchs team which entered the game ranked 10th in the nation in offensive rebounding (14.0/game). The Patriots limited ODU to just three offensive boards, held a 40-26 edge in the rebounding column and were +13 in second chance points (Mason did not allow an ODU second chance point the entire game).
“I thought this was a great, great team victory,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “It was a gutty win and a tough defensive performance. We knew how physical Old Dominion was defensively. In the second half we did a good job of driving to the basket, getting to the foul line and getting to multiple actions. I thought we really stepped it up defensively in the second half.”
Junior Javon Greene played exceptionally for Mason on both ends of the floor, tallying a season-best 19 points (5-10 FG, 3-7 3pt FG, 6-6 FT) to go along with seven rebounds and two steals. He played lock down defense on the perimeter throughout the game.
Redshirt-junior AJ Wilson continued his stellar play with 18 points (5-10 FG), nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists in 29 minutes. He also grabbed three key offensive rebounds in the game.
Sophomore Jordan Miller added seven points (five of them late in the second half), nine rebounds and a block, while freshman Josh Oduro came off the bench to put together a critical 6-point, 3-rebound effort.
Mason shot 42.2 percent for the game and made 18-of-25 free throw attempts (.720) on the night.
ODU took an early 9-4 lead and led 15-11 at the 13:22 mark of the first half. Mason used a 7-2 spurt, including a 3-pointer from Greene, to go up 20-17, but ODU rallied with five straight to go up 22-20 with 7:24 to play in the half. ODU used another 5-0 spurt to take a 29-24 edge and the Monarchs led 29-27 at the break.
Mason rocketed out of the gate in the second half and used a 6-0 run to take a 33-31 lead at the 17:49 mark. The Patriots led 36-34, but ODU hit a 3-pointer to go back up 37-36 and neither team would score for the next 2:30.
The Monarchs broke the drought with two buckets to take a 41-36 edge with 11:22 to play and ODU led 45-40 with under nine minutes to go. But at that point, Mason made a big move, putting together a critical 14-2 run over the next five and a half minutes while limiting ODU to 0 field goals made during the stretch. With Mason up 48-47, Jordan Miller hit a critical 3-pointer to swing the momentum for good in favor of the Patriots.
When the dust settled, Mason led 54-47 with 3:16 remaining. The Monarchs got within one (54-53) with 1:15 left, but Wilson drove to the bucket and converted a huge lay-in with 56 seconds left to make it 56-53. Then, a strong drive and finish from Miller made it 58-53 with 27 seconds to go, after a big stop on the other end.
Senior Justin Kier played four minutes in the game, marking his first action of the season as the 2019 A-10 Most Improved Player works his way back from a stress fracture in his foot.
Next up, Mason will play either Nebraska or Washington State at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday inside John Gray Gymnasium.
Share
Contributors
