George Mason, which had lost five of its last six, took out its frustrations on #25 Saint Louis, leading by as many as 34 on the way to an 86-57 win on Saturday in Fairfax.
Mason (23-8, 11-7) had been on the periphery of NCAA Tournament at-large territory after an 18-1 start, but struggled through the second half of January and the entirety of the month of February, going 4-7 over an 11-game stretch that included four straight double-digit losses.
The defense that had marked the early-season successes was back for one day against the Billikens (27-4, 15-3 A-10); the Patriots held Saint Louis 31 points under its season scoring average, and SLU was just 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) from three.
“This was the game we needed,” Mason coach Tony Skinn said. “It’s been a long season with a lot of ups and downs. There were some very early ups that I think set us up for a bad February. We needed to get punched in the mouth, and I think we’ve found our way the last couple games. These guys had the sense of urgency we needed, against a really good team, to get our swagger back before heading to Pittsburgh.”
Jahari Long had a game-high 21 points (10-of-17 FG) to go with nine assists and just one turnover in 38 minutes.
Kory Mincy added another outstanding game for the Patriots with 15 points (6-of-11 FG), five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Next up: George Mason will open the 2026 A-10 Tournament on Thursday as the #5 seed.
The Patriots will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between #12 seed La Salle (9-22, 5-13 A-10) and #13 seed St. Bonaventure (15-16, 4-14 A-10).
The 2 p.m. contest on Thursday will be broadcast nationally on USA Network.
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Chris Graham
