FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason cut it to a single possession game with less than eight minutes to play in the game, but VCU held strong and closed out a 71-60 victory in the Siegel Center Saturday night.
Mason trailed by 14 at the halftime break, but used a 71.4 percent shooting efficiency in the second half to close the gap to within a single possession and outscore VCU in the period, 41-38. The Patriots trailed by 10 with 14 minutes to play as Isaiah Jackson sparked an 8-2 spurt with a pair of triples to cut the score to 43-39 with 10:46 to play.
Doug Brooks made is a 45-39 contest before a 5-2 run from Shevon Thompson capped by a three-point play made it 47-44 with 7:53 remaining. Jarred Guest responded for the Rams hitting a three-pointer to push VCU's lead back out to six as the home squad continued to expand its lead to double-digits.
Three Patriots finished the game in double-figures led by Thompson and Jackson each with 16 points. Marquise Moore rounded out the trio with 10 points. Thompson posted his 16th double-double of the season with a game-high 15 rebounds as the Patriots won the battle on the glass, 31-28. Mason shot 57.9 percent from the field for the contest, but 24 turnovers pushed Mason into an early deficit having committed 15 in the first half to trail 33-19 at the break.
Treveon Graham led the Rams with 23 points, while JeQuan Lewis and Mo Alie-Cox added 13 and 11 points, respectively. VCU finished the game 18-of-23 from the free throw line, including going 14-for-15 over the final six minutes. VCU shot 38.3 percent for the game and converted Mason's miscues into 24 points.
Mason will prepare for the Atlantic 10 Championship held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, March 11-15. The Patriots will open the 2014-15 tournament as the No. 13 seed facing No. 12 Fordham on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on the A-10 Network/SNY. A full bracket can be found via Atlantic10.com.
Tickets for the 2015 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship are on sale now via TicketMaster.com and BarclaysCenter.com.
