PRINCETON, N.J. – A second half run from the George Mason men's basketball team was not enough on Tuesday night as the Patriots dropped a 71-66 decision at Princeton. Mason worked its way back from a double-digit deficit to tie the game with less than two minutes to play.

The Patriots (4-2) erased a 17-point halftime deficit and slowly worked their way back to tie the game at 66-66 off a pair of free throws from Johnny Williams with 1:21 left to play. Princeton (4-1) responded with a Hans Brase layup to regain the lead as Sherrod Wright's jumper to tie the game again was off the mark. Brase pulled down the defensive board as T.J. Bray converted a layup and Princeton closed out the game with a made free throw from Jimmy Sherburne for the final 71-66 decision.

Mason trailed by 13 with under 10 minutes to play before using a 14-4 run over three minutes to bring the score to 60-57 with 7:01 to play. Princeton pushed it back out a four-point advantage twice before Vaughn Gray hit a jumper and Williams tied the contest at 66-66 from the free throw line.

In a tale of two halves, Mason outscored Princeton in the second half 43-31 and shot 60.9 percent from the floor. The Tigers were held to 12 points in the paint, while Mason scored 20 in the final period. Sherrod Wright used an 18-point second half performance to finish the night with a game-high 27 points. Mason forced eight Tiger turnovers in the second half, while committing only four.  For the game, Mason finished shooting 53.5 percent from the field to Princeton's 61 percent shooting effort.  Four Tigers scored in double-figures led by Bray's double-double of 18 points and 10 assists.

Princeton used a 64 percent shooting effort, which included 24 points in the paint, in the first half to carry a 40-23 lead into the halftime break. Trailing 15-9, Bryon Allen nailed a triple to bring the Patriots to within three points, 15-12, with 10:21 left to play. Will Barrett would return an eight point lead to Princeton with five unanswered as the Tigers took their first double-digit lead off a Pete Miller bucket at the 4:52 mark for a 27-16 contest. Mason used a 6-2 run with under five minutes to play to trim its deficit to six points, but Princeton answered with a 10-1 run to close the half and lead 40-23.