George Mason University Athletics

Rivalry Game No. 97

Men's Basketball 12/7/2018 4:17:00 PM

More than a year after it happened, George Mason players and coaches shake their heads and grin when last seasons's game at James Madison is mentioned.

   "That was the craziest ending of any game I've ever been involved in," Mason coach Dave Paulsen says.

   The Patriots won 76-72 despite trailing by four points with 7.1 seconds left. It's not every day that you see eight-point swings in the last seven seconds.

   "That'll always be a story to tell," says junior guard Justin Kier, a Spotswood resident who had a slew of relatives and friends at the game. "And to do it back home was just awesome. I would have been very upset with that loss. It was like God was watching out for us that night."

    JMU comes to EagleBank Arena for a 7 p.m. game tonight, the 98th game between these two programs. The Dukes (7-4) are coming off a momentum-building 73-66 victory against Radford, which has received top-25 poll votes after wins against Texas and Notre Dame.

       "They're going to come in here fired up because that loss hurt, especially at home," forward Goanar Mar says. "They're rolling right now. We have to stay locked in with our game plan."

    Mar, a sophomore in his second season as a starter, played a key role in last year's win with 14 points. Mar and the Mason coaches thought he might have drawn an offensive charge when JMU's DeVelle Phillips made a layup with 26 seconds left for a 71-67 lead.
  Mason called time with 22 seconds left. Not that Paulsen drew up a five-point play, but that's what happened.

  Point guard Otis Livingston got hung up trying to penetrate yet found Ian Boyd, who took a couple of backward dribbles beyond the arc and drained a three from the left wing with seven seconds left. Mar, battling for rebounding position, hit the deck and officials called a foul on JMU.

   Mar went to the line for a one-and-one with Mason trailing 71-70. Paulsen and the rest of the coaching staff were confident Mar would make both despite the raucous JMU crowd .

   "I was trying to stay in the moment," says Mar, who was playing in just his seventh collegiate game. "When I went to the free throw line, I focused on sticking to my routine. I've made a lot of free throws in my life. Just stick to the routine. If I make it, I make it. If I don't, I don't."

   He made both for a 72-71 lead. On the ensuing inbounds play, an alert double team by Livingston and Mar caused a JMU foul that resulted in two Livingston foul shots for a 74-71 lead with 6.2 seconds left. After Livingston intentionally fouled to prevent a JMU three-pointer, the Dukes hit the first of two foul shots to make the score 74-72 with 2.1 seconds left.

   Mar rebounded the missed second shot, was fouled and hit two more free throws with 1.9 seconds left for the final margin. The game set a tone for the remainder of the season that featured four buzzer beating baskets, three by Boyd and one by Livingston.
   "I think that game gave us a lot of confidence throughout the year," Boyd said.

    Right now, the Patriots (4-6) are more concerned with turnovers than buzzer beaters. They're averaging nearly 15 a game. In Monday's 72-67 loss to visiting Vermont, 16 turnovers led to 23 points for the Catamounts.

       "We're going to get better at it," says Kier, who scored a career high 32 points in the game. "Some of them are careless; some are trying to make a play, to get someone else the ball.

   "We know it's a big deal because when we've had 15-plus turnovers, we've lost every single time. We've just got to be ready to play Friday. They're going to be juiced up over that win with Radford."

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Players Mentioned

#32 Ian Boyd: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#1 Justin Kier: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#0 Goanar Mar: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#32 Ian Boyd
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#1 Justin Kier
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#0 Goanar Mar
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F

Players Mentioned

#32 Ian Boyd

#1 Justin Kier

#0 Goanar Mar

Players Mentioned

#32 Ian Boyd

#1 Justin Kier

#0 Goanar Mar