George Mason knocked off by Old Dominion, 60-50

George Mason could not overcome a tough shooting night during a 60-50 loss to Old Dominion Saturday night inside EagleBank Arena.

The Patriots (4-5) limited the Monarchs (4-5) to 38 percent shooting for the game, but struggled on the other end while making 17 of 52 attempts (.327) on the night. The Patriots, one of the 70 best 3-point shooting teams in the country entering the contest, made just 6-of-28 shots (.214) from beyond the arc in an uncharacteristic performance for the Green & Gold.

“This was a bad loss for us, but deservedly,” head coach Kim English said. “They played better. Breaking it down simply, they won the effective field goal game, they won the turnover game, and when you do that in college basketball you win about 85 percent of your games. We just have work to do in our program; to continue to build and invigorate the toughness we know you need to play with and win with at a high level in college basketball.”

Junior Josh Oduro led the Patriots with his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career. The Gainesville, Va., native notched 14 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds while blocking two shots in 35 minutes.

Graduate student DeVon Cooper added a team-high 15 points (5-11 FG) and made 3-pointers in 35 minutes. He’s now just 13 points away from 1,000 for his career.

Senior guard Jamal Hartwell II chipped in 10 points and dished out a game-high three assists against the Monarchs.

Mason committed 13 turnovers to ODU’s 12, but the Monarchs took advantage of the Patriot miscues while holding a 16-4 edge in points off turnovers for the game. The Patriots also struggled at the line while making 52.6 percent of their attempts on the night.

ODU jumped out to an early 13-4 advantage. Mason rocketed back with a 12-1 run to build a 16-14 advantage at the 9:59 mark of the first half. The Patriots took a 26-25 advantage into the break.

The Monarchs used a decisive 16-2 run during a nine-minute stretch in the second half to move in front 42-29.

Mason fought back to cut it to five (50-45) with 2:07 left, but that’s close as the Patriots would get, as ODU made some big shots down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Mason remains at home to take on Navy Tuesday night at 7 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena.