#5 Duke has to gut out tough 68-47 win over George Mason

George Mason earned itself some new fans Tuesday in the course of its 68-47 loss at #5 Duke.

“They’re a really good team. They lost two games before us, both by a couple of points, so they’ve been in every game. It was a good win for us. They’re a Tournament team, for sure,” Duke junior guard Tyrese Proctor said of Mason, which held the Blue Devils to a season-low 25 points in the first half and a season-low 37.5 percent shooting effort from the floor for the game.

“That was a great team, extremely physical, scrappy,” said Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, who had 24 points (7-of-20 FG) and nine rebounds in the win. “They played really composed and with a lot of poise. It’s a team that, if you’re not careful and you don’t come out with the right mindset, they can really jump on you.”

The problem for the Patriots (7-4): they shot 29.4 percent and were just 2-of-17 from three.

“They did a phenomenal job of just taking us out of our actions,” George Mason coach Tony Skinn said. “I think at one point they were shooting 30 percent from the field. You can’t ask for more than that in this atmosphere. We just couldn’t make shots, and we have to learn from it.”

Mason got 19 points and seven rebounds from senior Jalen Haynes and 12 points from senior Darius Maddox.

Duke (9-2) led 20-16 inside of four minutes to go in the first half, 25-16 at the break, and opened the second half on an 11-2 run to build an 18-point lead.

Mason held Duke scoreless for more than four minutes to get back within 12, but that was as close as it would get.

“I thought it was a really good win for us,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I have a ton of respect for Tony Skinn, George Mason, and their team. Coming in, they were 7-3. They lost two games that they either should have won or could have won. They’re experienced, incredibly well-coached, and disciplined. We knew how tough they were on defense.”