George Mason could not cool down a hot offensive George Washington group during a 73-67 setback to the Colonials Saturday afternoon before 6,015 fans inside EagleBank Arena.
Mason led 30-28 at the half, but the Colonials shot a sizzling 60 percent (16-25) in the second half to end the contest with a 51 percent mark overall (26-51) for the game. The Patriots shot a solid 48.3 percent (28-58) overall, but made just 4-of-18 3-point attempts (.222) while facing a three-to-eight-point deficit for much of the contest.
“GW played exceptionally well, but from our perspective, this is the most disappointed I’ve been this season,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “We had great performance and a great victory on the road Wednesday [at VCU], and did not handle that the way a good team needs to handle it.”
The Patriots once again controlled the glass (34-26) in the game and allowed just six offensive rebounds while holding a 15-5 edge in second chance points. But Mason turned it over 15 times and allowed GW senior Armel Potter to score at will in key possessions down the stretch.
Two freshmen put together career performances to lead the Green & Gold. Xavier Johnson tallied a personal-best 17 points (6-10 FG) to go along with four rebounds and two assists, while fellow freshman Josh Oduro notched his first career double-double. That included personal bests in points (13) and rebounds (11) in a solid all-around effort for the freshman.
AJ Wilson (15 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk) and Jordan Miller (11 pts, 4 reb) also scored in double figures for the Green & Gold.
Mason jumped out to a 16-8 lead after a 3-pointer from Javon Greene at 13:27, but GW rocketed in front 18-17 on the strength of a 10-2 run. Mason went back up six (26-20) on a 3-pointer from Wilson at 7:36 and took a 28-26 lead into halftime.
GW quickly moved in front by four (36-32) in the second half and extended the lead to seven (47-40) with 11:18 to go. Mason cut it to two (49-47) on a lay-in from Oduro and trailed by four (55-51) after a jumper from Greene with 6:17 to play. But GW got it up to eight at 59-51 and led by nine (62-53) with 3:49 left.
A 6-0 spurt had Mason back within three (62-59) at the 2:43 mark, but a three-point margin (66-63) is the closest Mason would get for the remainder of the game.
The Patriots are back on the road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game at Richmond. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and televised on NBC Sports Washington.
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Chris Graham
