Mason (2-1) trailed 34-27 at the break, but the Patriots found their groove on both sides of the ball in the second half. The Patriots held the Eagles to just 33.3 percent from the floor in that stanza and shot 55.2 percent (16-29) on the other end to take control of the game.
In all, the Patriots outscored the Eagles 46-22 in the second half.
“We didn’t start off the game well at all,” George Mason coach Kim English said. “I’m really proud of the guys for responding [in the second half]. I give American a ton of credit. A lot of their guys did a great job working on their games and improving in the offseason. We picked up the defensive pressure in the second half and the results were much better.”
Victor Bailey Jr. led the Patriots with a season-best 23 points on a highly efficient shooting night (8-10 FG, 4-4 3pt FG). He also grabbed six rebounds in 29 minutes of work.
Fellow grad DeVon Cooper tied his career best with fivethree3-pointers on just seven attempts, while finishing with 18 points.
Senior Josh Oduro set a new career high with six assists while also tallying 13 points and five rebounds.
Junior point guard Ronald Polite III dished out five assists while committing just one turnover and finished with eight points.
Mason now heads to the U.S. Virgin Islands to play three games in the Paradise Jam next week. Mason opens the event on St. Thomas Friday with an 8 p.m. contest against Boston College. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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Chris Graham
