Home George Mason holds off La Salle, 70-66, to get over .500 mark in A-10 play
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George Mason holds off La Salle, 70-66, to get over .500 mark in A-10 play

Chris Graham

George Mason 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

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].