PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The George Mason men's basketball team erased a
five-point halftime deficit and pushed host Duquesne to two overtimes
before the Patriots captured an 85-79 victory on Wednesday night at the
A.J. Palumbo Center. Mason improved to 9-2 as its win streak improved to
seven straight. Duquesne fell to 5-5 on the year after the loss.
Senior Cam Long and junior Ryan Pearson led a quartet of Mason players in double figures as the pair each chipped in 17 points. Fellow upperclassmen Isaiah Tate and Andre Cornelius
each added 14, while Pearson's game-high tying 11 rebounds was good for
a double-double. Bill Clark had 21 points to lead the Dukes, who came
into the game as one of the nation's top 3-point shooting squads but was
limited to 5-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc. Mason also dominated
on the glass, holding a 54-37 advantage in rebounding.
Tate struck first in the second overtime with a runner in the
lane, and it took another 1:13 for Clark to deliver the response with a
layup. Cornelius hit a three 23 seconds later, but a pair of Saunders
free throws cut it to one. Tate answered with a 3-pointer of his own to
make it 81-77. Two more free throws from Long made it a six point game,
and after a bucket by Clark made it 83-79, Tate sank a pair to return
the margin to six to set the final score.
A close contest in the early part of the game, neither team led by more
than four as Mason's 9-2 run countered the opening basket by the Dukes. A
7-0 Mason run gave Mason a 16-12 lead, but the Dukes answered with a
10-0 run of their own to retake the lead. Duquesne continued to lead
until the 4:18 mark, when Bryon Allen drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 25.
After a free throw by Wright, Paris Bennett's
floater at the 2:43 mark gave the lead back to the Patriots, 27-26.
Again, the Dukes responded, using a 8-0 run to gain the advantage before
Allen sank a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, setting
the halftime margin at 34-29 in favor of the home team. Wright had nine
points in the opening period to lead all scorers while Morrison's six
were a team-high.
Prior to Wednesday night, Mason had trailed just once at the half
this season and it took less than three minutes for the Patriots to
erase the deficit, using three baskets from beyond the arc to go up
38-36. The lead would change hands nine more times including a 53-50
lead for Mason.
With the score tied and two minutes showing on the clock, Long
buried a 3-pointer to put the Patriots up 62-59. Clark answered with a
trey of his own, and a Pearson layup pushed the ledger back to the
Patriots, 64-62, with under a minute to play in regulation. McConnell's
layup with 16.8 seconds remaining tied the score at 64. With the ball
and 10 seconds left, Long's shot attempt was errant and the teams headed
to the bonus period, Mason's second overtime game of the season.
Mason led early in the overtime but a 3-point play by McConnell
shifted the lead to the Dukes at 69-68. A pair of free throws by Pearson
returned the lead to the Green and Gold, 70-69, and he converted both
ends of a one-and-one his next time down to make it 72-69. A layup by
Johnson cut it to 72-71, but Long sank a free throw to make it 73-71. At
the line, Johnson hit both his free throws to tie the game at 73 with
7.8 seconds on the clock. With the ball, a pair of shot attempts by the
Patriots were off the mark to send the game to double overtime.
After a break for the Christmas holiday, the Patriots return to
the court on the road as they face Dayton next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
