WASHINGTON, D.C. - Freshman Patrick Holloway and redshirt junior Sherrod Wright
each poured in 17 points, but the Maryland Terrapins held off the George Mason
men's basketball team, 69-62, on Sunday afternoon at the BB&T Classic at
the Verizon Center. Mason dropped to 5-3 while the Terrapins improved to 6-1.
The duo were the lone Patriots to score in double figures,
while Dez Wells led a trio of Terps with 25 points. Maryland outrebounded Mason
by a 49-34 margin, but the Patriots held a 15-13 advantage in offensive boards
and caused 19 turnovers compared to just nine for Mason.
Wells scored the Terps' first eight points, pacing them to
an 8-4 lead at the first media timeout of the game. Mason got within a basket
at 8-6 after two Wright free throws, but poor field goal shooting allowed
Maryland to build a 19-10 lead. Mason was 3-of-18 to start the game (.167)
Mason worked the lead down to a single possession after
back-to-back Holloway 3-pointers left the score 27-24 Terrapins with 3:46 left
in the half. After a Wells jumper, Holloway's basket and a pair of free throws
by Wright made it a 29-28 gave. Wells and Johnny Williams traded baskets before
Wells hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to set the halftime score of 34-30.
Mason needed less than 90 seconds to eliminate that deficit,
and after an Okoloji 3-pointer from the right side, the Patriots took the lead
for the first time at the 17:46 mark, 37-34. A Wright jumper at the 16:27 mark
made the score 39-38 Patriots, but it would be the final time that Mason would
hold the advantage, and the Terps would go on to lead by as many as nine.
The Patriots are back in action Tuesday night, hosting UMBC
at 7 p.m. in the first of two home games this week.
