Men's Basketball | 3/8/2018 8:00:00 PM

By Jerome Boettcher | Mason Athletics

WASHINGTON – All season long, George Mason's freshmen have been anything but bystanders.

Their first foray into the conference tournament was no exception.

The Patriots' rookies asserted themselves right into March Madness, boosting No. 5 seed Mason to a 80-75 victory over No. 13 seed Massachusetts in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday at Capital One Arena.

Three freshmen scored in double figures, led by Goanar Mar's 16 points. Redshirt freshman A.J. Wilson just missed his second career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, Javon Greene added 11 points and Greg Calixte chipped in eight points and seven boards. The newcomers combined for 48 points and 19 rebounds.

"I thought all four of those guys just did a great job – and they've improved," Mason head coach Dave Paulsen said. "Early on, Goanar was pretty savvy and ready for the bright lights and the other three guys, quite frankly, weren't. And that is to be expected. They've really embraced working hard. All they care about is their teammates and it is fun to watch their maturation."

Paulsen's extension into his bench throughout the season paid dividends when the stakes were raised.

With just eight scholarship players, the Patriots (16-16) have relied heavily on their newcomers as all three true freshmen have played in all 32 games, with Mar starting all 32 and Calixte making 21 consecutive starts. Wilson has missed just two games (due to concussive-like symptoms).

And the youngsters aren't just logging minutes – they're key contributors. Heading into Thursday's game, they accounted for 32 percent of Mason's total points. Mar ranked fourth on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and tied for third in rebounds (4.5 rpg). Wilson leads the team with 33 blocked shots and Calixte is third with 17 while Greene's 25 steals are the fourth-most.

"Definitely playing throughout the season and getting those big minutes as freshmen is good for us," Calixte said. "We are able to be ready for these big situations and step up."

Not only were they all making their conference tournament debuts but for several this was their first time playing in an NBA arena.

Mar played in the Capitol Classic at Capital One Arena last April and Calixte participated in the Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn also last spring. But Greene and Wilson, a native of nearby Laurel, Md., who grew up going to Washington Wizards games at the then-Verizon Center, had never stepped onto an NBA court.

"It was definitely a different experience," Greene said. "The (basketball) goals, I had to get used to them. But I felt I was a high-caliber player and that helped carry over to my gameplay and my team. I felt like I belonged. I felt comfortable."

They certainly looked the part. Brushing any jitters aside, Mason's freshmen helped keep the Patriots in a game that appeared to be slipping away.

UMass (13-20) started off hot, shooting 67 percent late into the first half. From 3-point range, the Minutemen scorched the Patriots early, making seven of their first eight attempts. UMass jumped out to a 14-point lead on multiple occasions in the first half and held a 35-23 advantage with less than five minutes before the break.

Then the Patriot rookies fueled a game-changing 16-4 run that sparked the Patriots and knotted the score before halftime.

"They really brought tons of energy," said junior guard Otis Livingston II, who scored a team-high 21 points and was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.

Mason freshmen accounted for 14 of the 16 points during the spurt, led by seven points from Mar. The 6-foot-7 forward from Mankato, Minn., scored all seven of his points off Minutemen turnovers. A steal by Calixte led to an easy uncontested layup by Mar to pull the Patriots within five and forced an UMass timeout with 1:29 to go.

Greene poked away a steal on the ensuing possession, then cashed in on the other end with one of his three 3-pointers from the top of the key. The Patriots forced six turnovers during the run, scoring 12 points off the miscues.

"Coach always says defense first and defense will bring offense," said Greene, a guard from McDonough, Ga. "After every media timeout, he will always say, 'We need three stops.' Three stops. And that's what we did. As we were doing that, offense came. We were hitting shots, everyone was hype and that brought energy to our team."

"It woke us up a lot," added Mar.

But the Patriots weren't finished. After forcing a shot clock violation by UMass, Mason had a chance to tie the game before halftime. The Minutemen appeared to thwart the effort but Calixte grabbed the loose ball and shoveled off a pass to a driving Justin Kier, who missed the layup. But Calixte was right there to clean up. The 6-foot-8 forward from Mount Vernon, N.Y., leapt up to grab the rebound and throw down a two-handed dunk for the thunderous putback to tie the game with a second before halftime.

"It was a 50-50 ball," Calixte said of the near turnover. "Then just crashing the glass. Yeah, it got me pumped up. It clearly got the whole team pumped up. Just energy plays like that we needed that. We came out and our energy really wasn't there in the beginning of the first half."

The freshmen continued their clutch play in the second half, with Greene sinking another crucial 3-pointer when UMass had pushed the lead back to seven. He sunk his third and final to tie the game in the final five minutes. Mar's jumper in the paint midway through the second half gave Mason its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Wilson twice tied the game late, the second on an offensive tip-in.

Wilson and Calixte consistently crashed the glass, combining for 12 of the team's 20 offensive rebounds. The Patriots took advantage of the extra opportunities, scoring 26 second-chance points. The freshmen also provided a lift off the bench as Wilson and Greene totaled 22 points as the Patriots outscored the Minutemen's reserves 24-5.

Freshmen also accounted for eight of the team's 10 steals – led by a career-high three by Calixte. Mason scored 29 points off 18 UMass turnovers.

Greene, along with Kier, got the defensive assignment to guard Luwane Pipkins, the A-10's top scorer at nearly 21 points a game. Pipkins scored a game-high 31 points but he scored just four points over the last 13 minutes and had three of his five turnovers in the second half.

The last turnover came when Pipkins tried to drive down the court to attempt a game-tying trey with the Minutemen trailing just 78-75 with four seconds remaining. Greene never let him get the shot off as he applied pressure as soon as the ball was inbounded. Pipkins was called for an offensive foul, pushing off on Greene just past halfcourt and turning the ball back over to the Patriots for Livingston's game-clinching free throws.

"I thought Javon's defense down the stretch on Pipkins was really, really good," Paulsen said. "I thought we made him become a driver… Certainly he's good at that but I thought our help defense was pretty good. We forced him into some turnovers at some pretty key junctures."

The freshmen also showed poise at the line, making 12 of 15 free throws (the team was an impressive 28 of 31). Mar was 7 of 9 from the line and made three of four in the final 28 seconds to help the Patriots' clinch their third victory over UMass this season.

With contributions that have become the norm, Mason's fresh faces assured their first collegiate season would be extended as they head into the quarterfinals against Saint Joseph's at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

"We don't really look at it as some guys are younger than others," Wilson said. "We all hold each other accountable. We rely on everybody equally the same – from (walk-on redshirt freshman) Jack (Tempchin) all the way up to Otis. We just came to do what we were supposed to do."