WHEN: Sunday, 2 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (13-10, 7-3), La Salle (7-14, 5-4)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 3-2
LAST MEETING: La Salle def. Mason, 69-62, on Feb. 17, 2018 in Philadelphia
TELEVISION: MASN/Stadium
LIVE VIDEO: Click Here
LIVE AUDIO: Mason Digital Network 
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF) 
TICKETS: Click here

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (13-10, 7-3) returns to Fairfax for a Sunday showdown with La Salle (7-14, 5-4) inside EagleBank Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Explorers is set for 2 p.m. Sunday's game will be televised regionally on Stadium (MASN in the DMV), featuring commentary from Matt Martucci and Tim Scarborough. The game also will be available on WatchStadium.com. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* Mason is off to its best start in league play (7-3) in its six seasons in the Atlantic 10. The Patriots won their first four conference road games for the first time since 1989-90 (per Patrick Stevens).

* Last time out, Mason dropped an 81-67 contest at Richmond. The Patriots were plagued by the turnover bug, as 20 miscues led to a + 21 (32-11) edge for the Spiders in points off turnovers.

* Mason trailed by 22 (72-50) with under eight minutes to play, but used a 15-0 run to cut it to seven (74-67) with 2:55 left. The Patriots then had a shot to cut it to four, but could not convert.

* Senior Otis Livingston II led the Patriots with 20 points, his highest scoring output since Dec. 21 vs. Navy (30). The Linden, N.J., product made an impressive 8-of-11 attempts from the floor and 3-of-4 3-pointers vs. the Spiders.

* Jordan Miller added 14 points (7-9 FG) and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in another superb performance by the freshman. He is averaging 14.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and shooting 76.5 percent (13-17) over the past two games.

* Redshirt-junior Jarred Reuter is averaging 11.8 points and shooting 64.5 percent over the past four games.

* Mason opponents have averaged 80.0 points over the past two games. Prior to that stretch, Mason had held 11 straight foes under 70 points. It was the longest such streak for a Mason team in 10 years.

* During that 11-game run, Patriot foes averaged 60.5 points and shot 38.4 percent (.274 from 3-point range). VCU and Richmond have combined to shoot 51.9 percent (56-108) and 39.6 percent (21-53) from beyond the arc since then.

* Mason made 4-of-15 3-pointers (.267) at Richmond. The Patriots are shooting 55.8 percent (116-208) from 2-point range over the past five games but just 25.9 percent (30-116) from beyond the arc. Mason is 11-of-51 (.216) from 3-point range over the past three games.

* In the four games leading up to the VCU contest, Mason was averaging just 9.8 turnovers per contest. But in games at VCU and Richmond, that number has grown to 17.5 per game.

* The Patriots have been solid on the glass over the past two games. Mason has an average rebounding margin of +6.5 (35.0-28.5).

* Mason has shot 47.6 percent overall and 37.2 percent from 3-point range in road games this season. At home, the Patriots are at just 44.6 percent overall and 28.4  percent from beyond the arc.

* The Patriots went 7-1 in January, marking the program's best January stretch since 2011-12. Mason is 0-2 so far in February.

HISTORY vs. LA SALLE
Sunday's game marks the sixth all-time meeting between George Mason and La Salle. The programs had never met prior to the Patriots' entry into the Atlantic 10 in 2013-14. The two teams have split a pair of meetings all time in Philadelphia. Last season, Mason earned a 95-75 victory in EagleBank Arena on Feb. 4, 2017. Mason holds a 3-2 edge in the all-time series, including a 2-0 mark in Fairfax. Last season, the Explorers won 69-62 in Philly. Justin Kier led Mason with 19 points and seven rebounds while Ian Boyd added 11 points. Mason  led 45-32 at the half, but the Explorers were +20 (37-17) in the final stanza. Senior Otis Livingston II has averaged 15.0 points in three all-time meetings with the Explorers, including a perfect 19-point performance (5-5 FG, 3-3 3pt FG, 6-6 FT) in a 95-75 home win on Feb. 4, 2017.

A LOOK AT THE EXPLORERS (7-14, 5-4 Atlantic 10; KenPom No. 222, NET No. 205)
La Salle was picked to finish 12th in the A-10 preseason poll. The Explorers started the season 0-10, but have stormed back by winning seven of their past 11 games, including four in a row. In conference play, La Salle has stepped up its defensive effort, rating fourth in the league in defensive efficiency (.959 points/possession) and third in effective field goal percentage (.464). La Salle leads the A-10 in 3-point percentage (.372) in conference games. The Explorers are led by graduate student Pookie Powell, who paces the team in scoring (13.3 ppg) in league play and dishes out 3.0 assists per contest. Juniors Saul Phiri (11.8 ppg, 48.0 3pt FG%) and Isiah Deas (11.4 ppg) also have played well in A-10 games.

HISTORY vs. THE BIG FIVE
Mason is 11-12 all time against members of Philadelphia's "Big 5." Mason is 4-5 against Saint Joseph's, 3-2 vs. La Salle, 1-4 against Villanova and 3-1 vs. Penn. The Patriots have never played Temple. Mason's most memorable Big Five win came in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, when the Green & Gold knocked off Villanova, 61-57, in the Round of 64 in Cleveland, Ohio. Harkening back to the old CAA days, Mason also has battled "City Six" school Drexel on 22 occasions while amassing a record of 14-8. This season, Mason won at Saint Joe's, 85-60, and fell to 2019 Big 5 champ Penn, 72-71, in the season opener.

UP NEXT
Mason remains in Fairfax for a Wednesday (Feb. 13) matchup with Massachusetts. Tip-off on ESPN+ is set for 7 p.m. The game also will be broadcast on the GoMason Digital Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

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