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STUDENTS BRING A FRIEND: Mason students can bring a friend to the game for free with a valid Mason ID
SUPERHERO DAY: The first 500 kids (12 and under) will receive a free Mason player trading card set (1 of 3). There will be appearances by Spider-Man, Captain America and more, and superhero training postgame.

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team returns to Fairfax for two A-10 home games. First up is a nationally televised contest vs. St. Bonaventure on Sunday.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Bonnies is set for 4 p.m. Sunday's game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network. Kevin Lee will handle play-by-play duties, while Ron Thompson will provide color commentary. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* The Patriots have won 20 of their past 38 A-10 games (.526). Mason went 12-39 (.235) over its first three seasons in the league.

* Last time out, the Patriots were +25 (51-26) in the second half en route to an 85-60 win at Saint Joseph's in Thursday's A-10 opener. Mason held SJU to just six points over the final 10 minutes of game action and used a 19-0 run in the second half to pull away.

* Mason has outscored its last two opponents by a combined 44 points in the second half (51-26 at Saint Joe's, 42-23 at Kansas State).

* Over the past four games, Mason is holding its opponents to 58.8 ppg and a combined 35.5 percent (78-220) shooting mark. Patriot foes averaged 75 points and shot 47.3 percent over the first 10 games of 2018-19. Mason is 5-1 this season when holding its opponent under 70 points.

* Junior Justin Kier led the Patriots with 18 points and a career-best 14 rebounds at SJU. He also dished out five assists and committed 0 turnovers. He's posted a double-double in three of the past four games and is averaging a team-best 18.6 points and 8.2 rebounds over the past five contests.

* Senior Otis Livingston II added 17 points and dished out a game-high seven assists at SJU. With his 10th point, he passed Ryan Pearson and reached fifth on the all-time Mason scoring list.

* With nine points vs. the Bonnies, Livingston II would move up another slot, passing Robert Dykes for fourth. Otis is now up to 1634 career points. He's also second at Mason all time in career assists (427).

* Mason is looking for its first ever 2-0 start in A-10 play. The Patriots joined the league in 2013-14.

* The win at SJU marked Mason's third-straight at Hagan Arena. It also was head coach Dave Paulsen's 450th career victory.

* Over the past two games, Mason is averaging just 6.0 turnovers/game. The Patriots were at 14.7 turnovers/game through the first 10 contests. Mason is 7-2 this season when posting fewer than 15 miscues.

* The Green & Gold made 15-of-28 (.536) 3-pointers in the win over the Hawks. The 15 3-pointers made put the Patriots just one off the school record of 16, set in 1995 against Troy.

GREENE MAKING MAJOR STRIDES IN SOPHOMORE SEASON
Sophomore Javon Greene has taken a huge step forward during his sophomore campaign in 2018-19. After scoring in double figures five times in 33 games during his freshman campaign, Greene already has surpassed that number with six 10+ point efforts in 2018-19. He's shooting 46.2 percent for the year (up from 35.4% in 2017-18) and grabbing a team-best 5.5 rebounds per contest. He also has become one of the team's best defenders and will be called upon to quell some of the A-10's top scorers this season. In the Jan. 3 A-10 opener, he limited the league's leading scorer Charlie Brown to 5-of-13 shooting and a 1-of-6 mark from 3-point territory.

HISTORY vs. ST. BONAVENTURE
Sunday's matchup marks the ninth all-time meeting between Mason and SBU. The Bonnies hold a 6-2 advantage in the series, including a 5-0 mark since Mason joined the A-10 in 2013-14. This season marks the first time that the two teams will contest a home-and-home series in league play. SBU holds a 3-1 edge in Fairfax. Last season, Mason fell 85-69 at home to the Bonnies on Jan. 31. Otis Livingston II poured in 30 points (8-16 FG, 5-9 3pt FG), but no other Mason player reached double figures in the loss. Matt Mobley (35 pts, 11 reb) and Nelson Kaputo (20 pts) led the Bonnies in the game.

ATLANTIC 10 HISTORY
Mason is 32-57 (.360) in league games since the program entered the Atlantic 10 in 2013-14, but the Patriots have gone an improved 9-9 in each of the past two seasons. After winning five or fewer A-10 contests during the first three years in the league while finishing no better than 12th, the Green & Gold broke through with a 9-9 mark in 2016-17 and a No. 7 finish. Mason also won its first A-10 Tournament game in program history. Then in 2017-18, the Patriots earned their highest A-10 tournament seed in five seasons (No. 5) and won an A-10 Tournament contest for the second-straight campaign.

A LOOK AT THE BONNIES (4-9, 0-0 Atlantic 10; KenPom No. 164, NET No. 210)
St. Bonaventure was picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. The Bonnies are 4-9 to start the year, but have been riddled with injuries while playing a challenging out-of-conference slate. Team leader Courtney Stockard (16.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.7 apg) has competed in just seven games, while LaDarien Griffin (7.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) has seen action in just three contests. The Bonnies are a top-100 KenPom defensive team, but struggle to score. On offense, the team averages 0.99 points per possession (252nd nationally). In addition to Stockard, junior Jalen Poyser tallies 14.2 points per game, while freshman guard Kyle Lofton has made an immediate impact with 13.8 points and 3.9 assists per contest. SBU won an NCAA First Four game in 2017-18 over UCLA, but graduated two of the best players in school history in Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley.

UP NEXT
The Patriots remain in Fairfax for a contest against Davidson. The Wednesday, January 9, contest will tip at 7 p.m. and be streamed nationally on ESPN+.

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