Old Dominion holds on for 75-69 win over George Mason

It all came down to the final minutes for the second straight game as George Mason and Old Dominion battled through 12 lead changes, but the Patriots could not outlast the Monarchs, dropping a 75-69 decision Wednesday evening in the Patriot Center. Sophomore Marquise Moore posted a career-high 22 points on the night.

Moore tied his career-high at the free throw line, going a perfect 10-for-10 at the charity stripe as Mason finished 16-for-20 at the line on the evening. ODU shot 87.0 percent on 20-for-23 shooting at the charity stripe. For the game, Mason shot 46.3 percent from the field (25-54) to ODU’s 44.0 percent (22-50), but half of the Monarch’s field goals came beyond the three-point arc (11-25). Ambrose Mosley led the Monarchs with 21 points going 5-for-10 from three-point range.

ODU led by as many as nine in the first half and led by four, 36-32, at the break after the lead changed hands twice. Moore scored 10 points in the first half as the Patriots jumped out to a 6-2 led fueled by four points from the sophomore. The lead was short-lived as the Monarchs used a 13-0 run to take a nine point lead. Mason would knot it up twice the remainder of the half, but never regained the lead as ODU outrebounded the Patriots, 14-8, in the period. Both teams shot over 50.0 percent in the half.

Four straight points from Moore to open the second half erased Mason’s deficit as the teams would battle through a back-and-forth affair for the majority of the second half with the lead changing 10 times and the score being tied seven times. Moore led the Patriots with 12 points, while Ambrose scored 16 points in the second half. Mason held its final lead of the contest with three minutes left when Moore hit a pair of free throws to break a 60-60 tie. Mosley answered with eight points for ODU as the Monarchs would hold the lead the remainder of the game.

Mason returns to action at northern iowa on Saturday for an 8 p.m. tip in Cedar Falls. northern iowa is currently receiving votes in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll.