Box Score (PDF)

* The Patriots shot 50 percent and held a +8 (17-9) edge in turnover margin
* Redshirt-junior Jarred Reuter scored a career-best 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting
* Senior Otis Livingston II dished out a game-high seven assists.

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team outscored NC Central by 18 in the second half to ultimately post a 78-63 victory over the Eagles Tuesday night in EagleBank Arena.
 
With Mason trailing 38-34 at the 18:07 mark of the second half, the Green & Gold put together a massive 35-8 run over the next 12 minutes to build a 23-point lead (69-46) that the team would not relinquish.
 
"That was the kind of basketball we hope and expect to see. I thought every guy was fully committed to engaging on the defensive end. When we take care of the ball, we're a pretty good offensive team. It's great to get Jarred [Reuter] going too – that's what he's capable of doing."
 
Reuter – a redshirt junior - had a breakout game for Mason, shattering his previous career high with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting. The Marion, Mass., product also was 5-of-5 from the line and grabbed three rebounds in 22 minutes of work.
 
Junior Justin Kier chipped in 12 points and made 4-of-7 field goal attempts, while fellow junior Ian Boyd added 11 points (4-8 FG) and grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
Senior Otis Livingston II dished out a team-high seven assists and committed 0 turnovers in 23 minutes on the floor.
 
The Patriots shot 51 percent for the game – including a 55.6 percent mark in the second half – and held a +8 (17-9) edge in turnovers. The team's nine turnovers marked a season low and the Green & Gold committed just one miscue in the deciding second half.
 
Mason used that advantage to enjoy a +15 (26-11) edge in points off turnovers for the game. The Patriot bench also outscored the NCCU bench, 27-3, on the night.
 
The Eagles jumped out to an early 14-4 advantage over the first six minutes, before Mason used a 9-2 run to take a 17-16 lead at the 8:40 mark of the first half.
 
The Patriots went up four (24-20) after a pair of free throws from Reuter and took a 29-25 lead on a 3-pointer from Boyd with 3:51 to go in the stanza. NCCU closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 32-29 lead into the break.
 
But Mason used its 35-8 run early in the second half to pull away and head to Florida with a W.

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