FAIRFAX, Va. – In his second straight game, sophomore Marko Gujanicic posted a double-double as three Patriots scored in double-figures to lead the George Mason men's basketball team to a 76-70 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday. Mason never trailed by more than two points in the contest, improving to 3-0 on the season. UNI dropped to 1-2 with the loss.

It all came down to the final minutes once again as UNI's Matt Bohannon made it a 60-59 ballgame hitting a triple at the 4:21 mark. The teams would trade baskets over the next three minutes before Patrick Holloway nailed a three-pointer at 2:09 to put the Patriots up by four, 67-63. Leading 72-67 following a Corey Edwards free throw, Gujanicic hit a pair of free throws to put Mason up 74-67 with 14 seconds to play. UNI would counter with a Bohannon triple with 12 seconds and on the inbounds play, UNI grabbed a steal as Nate Buss' three-point attempt rimmed off and Gujanicic pulled down the rebound. Gujanicic closed out the contest with two free throws to seal the 76-70 Mason victory.

Sherrod Wright led Mason offensively with 23 points, followed by Gujanicic with 16 and Patrick Holloway (first career start) with 11. Gujanicic, with his third career double-double, pulled down 10 of Mason's 36 rebounds. The sophomore went a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe and dished out four assists, both setting career-highs. Mason would finish the game 23-for-27 from the free throw line and out-rebounded the Panthers, 36-25. Four Panthers scored in double-figures for UNI led by Bohannon with 19.

Mason raced out to an 8-0 lead behind six points from Wright and took an 11-2 lead off a triple from Holloway at 15:13. Chip Rank hit the Panthers' first field goal at 14:00 to set the score at 11-5. With the Patriots leading 17-8, UNI used an 11-2 run over a 3:29 span to tie the game at 19-19 forcing Mason to call at timeout at 6:54. The teams would work through two more ties before Mason grabbed a 30-25 lead on an Anali Okoloji bucket with 1:15 left to play. The Panthers scored the final four points of the half for the 30-29 Mason halftime lead.

Tied at 36-36 heading into the first media break of the second half, Wright ignited a 7-0 Patriot run to put the home squad up 43-36 with 14:14 left in the game. The Panthers responded with a 7-0 run of their own to bring the game back to a standstill at 43-all as the clock stood with 11:58 remaining. UNI grabbed its first lead of the second half off a Deon Mitchell layup, but the lead would be short-lived as Mason regained a 53-48 advantage following a Wright jumper and Vaughn Gray three-pointer. A pair of Gujanicic free throws at 5:13 put the Patriots back up, 59-54, before the Panthers cut the score to 60-59 on a Bohannon three-pointer.