Box Score (PDF)

* Junior Otis Livingston II recorded a season-high 19 points (5-5 3pt FG) and distributed six assists
* Freshman Goanar Mar tallied a career-best 16 points and hit 6-of-10 field goal attempts
* Mason held Binghamton to 26.1 percent shooting in the second half.

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (2-1) locked down on defense in the second half to earn a 69-57 victory over Binghamton on Thursday night inside EagleBank Arena.
 
The visiting Bearcats(1-2) shot 53.6 percent in the opening half and led 38-32 at the break. Binghamton improved that lead to 11 early in the second stanza, but Mason used two runs of 13-0 down the stretch to claim victory.
 
"Tonight was a total team effort," head coach Dave Paulsen said. "Everyone who stepped on the floor made a key play and that's the identity we need to embrace."
 
Mason held Binghamton to 26.1 percent shooting in the second half and just a 2-of-9 mark from 3-point land.
 
Offensively, Mason put together a season-best 47.3 percent performance from the field (26-55), including a 9-of-21 mark from deep (.429). The Patriots also held a 36-29 edge on the glass and turned 13 offensive rebounds into a +6 advantage in second chance points (10-4).
 
Junior point guard Otis Livingston II played arguably his best game of the young season while pouring in 19 points and six assists. He made all five of his 3-point attempts while shooting 7-of-10 overall from the field.
 
Freshman Goanar Mar also put together his best performance to date, notching a career-best 16 points (6-10 FG, 2-3 3pt FG). He made a number of key baskets early in the second half while Mason was trailing to help the Patriots get back in the game.
 
Sophomore Justin Kier was in double figures for the third time in as many games (13 points, 4-9 FG) and junior Jaire Grayer added six points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes. Sophomore Ian Boyd added nine points and a career-high nine rebounds in 34 minutes.
 
In addition, freshmen Greg Calixte (4 points, 2-2 FG), and Javon Greene (2 pts, 1 ast) posted the first points of their Mason careers.
 
The two teams played to an early 7-7 tie, before Binghamton used back-to-back 3-pointers to build a 24-14 lead at the 8:02 mark of the half. A 3-pointer from Boyd cut the Bearcat edge to four (26-22), but Binghamton responded with an 8-2 spurt to go back up 10 (34-24) with 4:06 to go in the period.
 
The Bearcats then led 38-28, but buckets from Kier and Livingston II cut the halftime edge to six (38-32).

Binghamton extended its lead to 11 (47-36) early in the second half, before Mar came up huge with three buckets to pick the Patriots up. The production sparked a 13-0 run for Mason in which the Green & Gold held Binghamton scoreless for more than five and a half minutes. When the dust settled, Mason had its first lead of the second half (49-47) with 11:54 to play.
 
Binghamton went back up three (54-51) with 8:49 to go and was up 55-53, before Grayer hit a huge 3-pointer to put Mason back up one (56-55) at the 6:18 mark. Binghamton converted on the other end to take a 57-56 lead (5:49 to go), but that's the last time the Bearcats would score.
 
Mason closed the game on a 13-0 spurt, which included a trio of 3-pointers from Livingston II.

The Patriots are now 2-0 at home in the 2017-18 campaign.
 
Mason remains in Fairfax to take on Cal State Northridge in the team's second Cancun Challenge contest in Fairfax. The Patriots will host the Matadors on Saturday (Nov. 18) at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the A-10 Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m.

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