George Mason’s Dave Paulsen records 400th career win

Behind three Patriots in double-figures, George Mason men’s basketball head coach Dave Paulsen recorded his 400^th career victory with a 63-44 rout over Penn Saturday night at EagleBank Arena. Freshman Jaire Grayer led the Patriots with 20 points as Mason shot 45.0 percent from the field. Penn never led in the contest as Mason held its largest lead of 23 points several times in the second half.

GAME NOTES
-Mason jumped out to an 8-0 advantage right out of the gate, forcing Penn to call an early timeout with 16:16in the first half.
-The Patriots gained their first double-digit lead with just over four minutes expired in the first half and pulled out to a 15-point advantage with 7:49 to play, 22-7.
-The Quakers were held to less than 10 points in the game until the 6:03 mark when Jamal Lewis converted a layup for a 22-11 Mason lead.
-Mason shot 45.2 percent in the first half paced by nine points from Jaire Grayer and led 28-10 in rebounds.
-Fueled by a pair of triples from Grayer, Mason opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt to grab a 21-point lead, 37-16 with 16:56 to play.
-Mason held its largest lead of 23 points on three occasions, the last occurring after a layup from Otis Livingston II at 5:53, setting a 58-35 Mason lead.
-The closest Penn would come in the second half was 17 points, 48-31, but Mason’s defense and strong shooting kept the Quakers from gaining anything further.

STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason shot 45.0 percent (27-60) from the floor and won the battle on the glass, 45-30.
-Penn was limited to a 32.1 percent (17-53) effort from the field. After the first half, Penn was held to 10 rebounds, none offensively.
-At the halftime break, Mason pulled down 28 rebounds and shot 45.2 percent.
-Jaire Grayer led Mason with 20 points followed by Otis Livingston II with 12 points and Marquise Moore with 11 points.
-Shevon Thompson recorded a team-best 12 rebounds, five coming offensively.
-The Patriots committed a season-low seven turnovers and just two in the second half.

NEXT ON THE COURT
-Mason continues this homestand welcoming Northern Iowa on Tuesday, December 8 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ASN and broadcast on WNEW.