George Mason made all the right plays late during a to secure a dramatic 70-66 victory over La Salle in front of 6,513 fans on Homecoming Saturday.
Mason (16-12, 8-7 A-10) trailed 54-51 with 6:16 to go, but the Patriots ripped off a 6-0 run to go up 58-54 with 4:03 left.
La Salle (13-14, 7-7 A-10) tied it up at 60-60 with 2:28 remaining, but Ronald Polite III hit a huge 3-pointer on the ensuing Patriot possession. Mason got it up to six (69-63) with 13 seconds left to clinch the victory.
The win is Mason’s third-straight and improves the Green & Gold to 13-2 at home this season.
“This was a good win for our group against the hottest team in our league,” Mason coach Kim English said. “Basketball is a game of runs and there were a lot of ups and downs in this game. I thought our guys showed some resiliency in the second half getting down and then working through a rough patch offensively. We found a way to get stops and create some scores at the free throw line when our offense wasn’t fluid.”
Josh Oduro continued his torrid play of late, tallying a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 35 minutes of work.
Polite added 15 points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists, while graduate guard DeVon Cooper chipped in 13 points and tied his career best with nine rebounds.
Chris Graham
