DAYTON, Ohio - The
George Mason men's basketball team rallied to get within four points inside of
a minute remaining, but could not overcome the University of Dayton on its home
court as the Flyers defeated the Patriots, 73-67, on Wednesday evening before
13,371 fans at UD Arena. The loss snaps the Patriots' seven-game win streak as
Mason fell to 9-3 on the season, while the Flyers improved to 11-3.
Senior Cam Long tied a season
high as he scored 20 points to lead all scorers, while junior Andre Cornelius
added 18 and classmate Ryan Pearson contributed 13 points. Mason, which was
out-rebounded by a 40-32 margin, was led by seven boards from Pearson. Chris
Johnson led a trio of Flyers in double figures with 18 points.
Mason, which came into the game ranked among the top-20
nationally in 3-point defense and scoring defense, was out-shot by a 44.9-to-38.6
margin. From beyond the arc, UD held a 42.9-to-31.8 percent advantage in the contest,
Mason's fourth against an Atlantic 10 foe this season.
The Patriots struck first and
used a pair of 3-pointers from Long and Cornelius to take the early lead, but
the Flyers each time responded with a pair of free throws, leaving the score
tied at six at the first scheduled timeout. That tone held for much of the
first half, with Dayton building a lead at 20-13 thanks to a 10-3 run over
nearly three minutes. Mason eliminated that advantage with a 9-2 run of their
own, tying the score at 22 on a fadeaway jumper by sophomore Luke Hancock at
the 5:34 mark.
Hancock put Mason back in
front on a layup less than a minute later and the Green and Gold led by as many
as five at 27-22, but a 15-0 run by the Flyers made it a double-digit UD lead
at 37-27. The Patriots cut that deficit in half, but the last of Luke Fabrizius's
three treys in the first half set the halftime score at 40-32 in favor of the
Flyers. Cornelius led the Mason effort with his nine points, all from beyond
the arc, while Johnson had 14 points in the opening period.
Mason exploded out of the
halftime intermission, cutting the deficit to three points at 42-39 and then to
two with the score at 46-44 with 13:15 remaining in the game. It would be the
last time the Patriots were within one score, although it was a four-point game
at 67-63 with just over a minute remaining and again with Morrison's free throw
making the score 71-67 with 47 seconds left. Mason had the ball with 21 seconds
left but a missed field goal attempt turned the ball over to the Flyers, who
added two more free throws to secure the victory.
The Patriots return to action
on Monday night, hosting Colonial Athletic Association foe Delaware at 7 p.m.
