Mason (12-8, 4-3 A-10) led led 41-26 at the half, but Rhode Island (6-13, 2-5 A-10) stormed back to cut the lead to three (62-59) with 7:29 remaining.
The Patriots rattled off 9-2 run to go back up 10 (71-61) with 5:25 to go, and Rhode Island could not move closer than six (76-70) for the remainder of the game.
“This is a good win by our group, finding a way to win on the road against a team that’s been really good at home,” Mason coach Kim English said. “We didn’t defend in the second half the way we did in the first half and the way we want to. Credit them – they made some great shots, but our guys really responded. They made some stops down the stretch and made some big plays.”
Josh Oduro continued his tear through the Atlantic 10 Saturday while tallying team highs in points (24), rebounds (14), steals (3) and blocks (2).
Oduro, the reigning A-10 Player of the Week, also dished out three assists and made 10-of-15 field goal attempts in 26 minutes on the floor.
DeVon Cooper notched a season-high 20 points (6-of-9 FG, 5-of-8 3FG) and dished out three assists, while Ronald Polite registered a game-high eight assists to go along with seven points and five rebounds.
Mason shot an A-10 season-best 54.5 percent against a top-75 effective field goal defensive unit and knocked down 9-of-20 from three (45 percent). The Patriots also held advantages in points in the paint (34-26) and points off turnovers (19-16) while tallying a +5 edge (35-30) on the glass.
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Chris Graham
