PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – George Mason won the battle on glass over La Salle, 43-35, to take the first-ever meeting between the squads 59-57 Thursday night in the Tom Gola Arena. Three Patriots scored in double-figures led by Marko Gujanicic with 15 points. Gujanicic nearly missed a double-double with eight rebounds.

Philadelphia native Erik Copes led the Patriots on the glass with 10 rebounds. Gujanicic followed with eight as Johnny Williams pulled down seven and Jalen Jenkins secured six in the winning effort. With 14 offensive rebounds, the Patriots recorded 16 second chance points. Patrick Holloway and Sherrod Wright also finished in double-figures with 10 points apiece. Mason's bench contributed 31 points to the scoreboard, while La Salle only got eight off its bench.

After committing eight turnovers in the first half, Mason made second half adjustments and committed only three in the final stanza. At the break, the Explorers converted Mason's first-half turnovers into 13 points and finished the game with 15 points off turnovers.

Mason worked to erase an early 9-0 deficit in the first half as the Patriots opened the contest going 0-for-8 from the field. Copes sparked a 7-0 run fueled by five points from Gujanicic to pull the Patriots within 18-17 with 6:15 to play. La Salle reopened a seven point lead thereafter, but Mason closed the half with a 7-2 spurt to trail by two at the break, 29-27.

In a reverse of the start of the game, Mason came out of the halftime break with a 6-0 run to gain the lead, 33-29, with just over two minutes expired, forcing the Explorers to burn their third timeout. The teams would work through four tied scores and eight lead changes through the remainder of the half and traded buckets in a one point game over the final five minutes. Trailing by one with 40 seconds to play, Gujanicic hit a layup to return a one point lead to the Patriots with 21 seconds on the clock. La Salle attempted the three-pointer for the win, but it was off the mark as Bryon Allen secured the rebound. Allen capped the game with two free throws for the final 59-57 score.