George Mason, missing two starters, falls at home to Duquesne, 59-51

George Mason got 22 points from Darius Maddox, but the Patriots struggled without leading scorer Keyshawn Hall and point guard Ronald Polite III, falling 59-51 to Duquesne on Saturday.

Mason (18-11, 7-9 A-10) committed 18 turnovers and shot 36.5 percent on the day.

Duquesne (18-11, 8-8 A-10) has won eight of its last 11 in league play after an 0-5 start.

“Duquesne was desperate at 0-5 to start the season, and now they’re red hot,” George Mason head coach Tony Skinn (’06) said. “Us being down two starters, it ends up being a dogfight. For about 36-37 minutes we had a chance. It’s a game of possessions and they forced us to take and miss a lot of bad threes, which took away our confidence. Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark made some big plays down the stretch, and I thought that was the difference maker.”

Maddox, a Virginia Tech transfer, was 7-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three in 36 minutes.