George Mason could not close out its A-10 opener on the road, falling 77-76 to George Washington on Monday in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Showcase on CBS Sports Network.
The Patriots led by 13 (72-69) with just over six minutes remaining, but Mason could only score a pair of buckets down the stretch as the Colonials used an 18-4 run to close out the Revolutionary Rivalry win.
Mason’s 13 turnovers led to a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers for the game for GW.
The Patriots were without leading scorer Josh Oduro (17.0 ppg), who missed the contest with a lower leg injury.
“Obviously this was a tough, tough, tough loss in a game of runs and ebbs and flows,” head coach Kim English said. “It was good to be out here playing basketball again, putting things in perspective. But it’s a disappointing loss, even without Josh Oduro. They were without guys as well. They made the plays down at the end. They stayed true to who they are. They’re a team that gambles and goes for steals. They were fortunate to get some of those, and I think it was lack of sureness on our end, some shot selection things late in the game. Then it comes down to playing defense.”
Graduate student D’Shawn Schwartz led the Green & Gold with 27 points, just two off his career high, on 10-of-20 shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded two blocks in 38:16 of action.
Schwartz was one of five Patriots in double figures. Junior Davonte Gaines added his fifth double-double of the season (10 pts, 11 reb), while graduate student DeVon Cooper added 13 points and made 3-of-4 3-pointers.
Junior Xavier Johnson chipped in 12 points and a game-high six assists and sophomore Malik Henry notched a career-best 10 points (5-5 FG) to go along with four rebounds in 18 minutes.
Mason shot 52.6 percent from the floor (30-57) and shot 63.1 percent from 2-point range (26-41), but converted just 4-of-16 3-pointers (.250).
Mason jumped out to a 11-8 advantage, but the Colonials answered back with a 12-1 run to build a 20-12 edge at the 11:25 mark of the opening half. With the Colonials ahead by 10 (29-19), the Patriots raced back on the strength of a 9-0 run which moved Mason back within one (29-28). The Patriots tied it up at 31-31, but GW scored the final two buckets of the half to take a 4-point edge (35-31) into the break.
Mason used a 12-2 spurt early in the second half to move ahead by seven at 49-42. GW rallied to tie it at 57-57, but another Patriot run, this time 13-0, ballooned the Mason advantage to 13 (70-57) with 6:46 to go in the game.
The Patriots led, 72-59, with 6:09 left, but Mason would manage just two field goals for the remainder of the contest as the Colonials came back to pick up the victory.
Next up, the Patriots play their first A-10 home contest of the season on Saturday when Mason welcomes Dayton to EagleBank Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The contest will be televised on MASN and broadcast on ESPN+.
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