George Mason Basketball to open 2019-20 with pair of home games

George Mason men’s basketball 2019-20 Opening Week will feature a pair of home games against local opponents Navy and Longwood.

The Patriots begin the season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 with an Armed Forces Night contest vs. the Midshipmen.

Then, on Friday, Nov. 8, the Green & Gold kick off the University’s Family Weekend with a battle against the Lancers.

The opening week duo represents two of eight non-conference home games on the 2019-20 schedule for the Green & Gold.

Navy looks to return three of its top-5 scorers from a 2018-19 squad which won eight conference games and advanced to the semifinals of the Patriot League Championship. Mason won last season’s matchup with the Middies in Fairfax, 84-63. It marked the first matchup between the schools since 1991.

Longwood is coming off one of the best seasons in the school’s Div. I history. The Lancers won the second-most games in program annals and advanced to the postseason for the first time. Longwood won a CBI first round game over Southern Miss (90-68), then fell to CBI runner-up DePaul 97-89 in Chicago. The Lancers welcome back top scorers Shabooty Phillips (14.0 ppg) and Jaylon Wilson (11.0 ppg) to the roster in 2019-20.

In addition to the two opening weekend games, Mason also has announced a non-conference game at Maryland at a date to be announced. The Patriots also will compete in the 2019 Cayman Islands Classic, which kicks off Nov. 25 against former conference rival Old Dominion.

More schedule information will be announced in the coming weeks.