The George Mason men’s basketball team led by nine early against the top team in the nation, but the Ohio State Buckeyes proved too much as they defeated the Patriots, 98-66, in the NCAA Third Round on Sunday evening at Quicken Loans Arena. OSU (34-2) moves on to face No. 4-seed Kentucky in the East Regional Semifinals Friday in Newark, N.J., while the Patriots conclude their season at 27-7, tying a school record for victories.
Senior Cam Long led the Patriots in his final game with the Green and Gold, scoring 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Joining Long in double figures was junior Ryan Pearson who chipped in 13 points. David Lighty was 7-of-7 from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 overall en route to 25 points, one of four Buckeyes in double digits.
The Patriots opened the game with an 11-2 run, capped by a layup by Pearson at the 16:22 mark, but the Buckeyes struck back to take the lead less than two minutes later on a 3-pointer by Lighty. Mason would lead just once more, after Pearson knocked down a trey with 13:53 left in the first half to make it 14-12 in favor of the Patriots. The margin would remain in single digits for nearly eight more minutes, until a 7-0 run by the Buckeyes left the score 33-22. A pair of free throws by Long cut it to nine, but OSU closed out the half with a 19-2 run to take a 52-26 lead into the halftime locker room.
Pearson led the way with nine points for George Mason, which was limited to 37 percent shooting from the field (10-27) while the Buckeyes connected on 63.3 percent of their shots (19-30), led by 17 points from Lighty and 13 from Sullinger. OSU also won the battle of the boards in the first half by a 21-10 margin and was 9-of-12 from beyond the arc, compared to a 2-of-8 performance by the Patriots.
Mason could get no closer than 21 in the second half, but were only outscored by a 46-40 margin by the Buckeyes in the final 20 minutes.
Long was one of two senior Patriots, along with guard Isaiah Tate, who played in their final collegiate game. Making his 132nd appearance for George Mason, Long set a new career record for games played on Sunday, eclipsing Will Thomas.
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