– stock.adobe.com)
George Mason could not overcome a hot-shooting Duquesne in an 85-68 loss to the Dukes on Saturday afternoon, with implications out the wazoo for Mason and its postseason hopes.
The Patriots (22-7, 13-3 A-10, NET: 65) were already on thin ice with respect to their NCAA Tournament at-large resume; this loss to an under-.500 Duquesne team (13-16, 8-8 A-10) was the second Quad 3 loss for Mason this season (the other: ECU, way back on Nov. 16).
Now the Patriots are assured that they will need to win the A-10 Tournament in a couple of weeks, though they can still play their way into the tournament’s #1 seed.
That, though, would take a major stumble from VCU (24-5, 14-2 A-10, NET: 29), which owns the head-to-head with George Mason by virtue of the 70-54 Rams win in Richmond last weekend.
Duquesne made 15 threes and shot 52.9 percent from the floor, had nine offensive rebounds and forced 20 Mason turnovers in the win on Saturday.
The Dukes led 35-32 at the break, but George Mason jumped ahead early in the second half on a Zach Anderson three.
A 16-2 Duquesne run broke the game open.
Senior Jalen Haynes led the Patriots with 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while senior KD Johnson added 11 points and three steals.
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Chris Graham
