WHEN: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (11-8, 7-6), La Salle (9-14, 6-10)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 6-2
LAST MEETING: Mason def. La Salle, 75-42, on Jan. 13, 2021
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
GAME PROGRAM: Click here

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (11-8, 7-6) will honor its six senior student-athletes Saturday prior to the team's final 2020-21 home game vs. La Salle. 

Tip-off between the Patriots and Explorers is set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday's contest will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Jac Collinsworth and Ron Thompson. In addition, the contest will be aired on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming audio available starting at 4:15 p.m. Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will be on the call.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are riding a three-game winning streak, including a 63-58 triumph over George Washington Wednesday night in Fairfax. Mason trailed by 13 (36-23) at the break, but held GW to 30.4 percent shooting in the second half while posting a +18 (40-22) scoring margin in the stanza.

• Mason grabbed an impressive 23 offensive rebounds vs. the Colonials and held a 12-3 edge in second chance points. The Patriots are a combined +31 on the offensive glass and +20 in second chance points over the past two games. Mason is 9-2 when winning the overall rebounding battle this season.

• Four players scored in double figures vs. GW, including Jordan Miller, who notched 14 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds while matching his personal best with 10 offensive boards. He's now scored 14+ points in seven-straight games and is eighth in the A-10 in scoring in league play (15.8 ppg).

• Reigning A-10 Player of the Week Josh Oduro followed up his career-best 27-point performance at VCU with an 11-point, 10-rebound, 3-block showing vs. GW. He scored eight-straight for the Patriots in the second half to help fuel the comeback win.
 
• The Patriots are holding their opponents to 27.1 percent (13-48) from beyond the arc over the past three games. Mason is 8-0 when limiting its opponent to 33 percent or less from 3-point range.

• Senior Javon Greene notched 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in Wednesday's win. He's averaging 14.4 points and shooting an impressive 51.3 percent (20-39) from deep over the past seven games. In league play, Greene ranks second in the A-10 in 3pt FG percentage (.438).

• Freshman Tyler Kolek led Mason with a game-high 16 points (3-7 3pt FG) to go along with team highs in assists (4) and steals (3). He leads the A-10 in scoring amongst freshmen this season (10.9 ppg) and is t-5th in school history in 3-pointers made by a freshman (46), despite playing just 19 games in 2020-21.

• With Mason's strong defensive showing vs. GW, the Patriots jumped into 80th nationally in defensive efficiency (0.974 points/possession). The Patriots have not finished the season in the top-100 since 2011-12.

• One of the keys to the team's defensive success is limiting multiple-shot opportunities. The Patriots are allowing an offensive rebound on just 23.2 percent of opponent possessions (26th nationally).

HISTORY vs. LA SALLE
Saturday's matchup marks the ninth all-time meeting between Mason and La Salle. The programs had never met prior to the Patriots' entry into the Atlantic 10 in 2013-14. The Patriots have won all four meetings in Fairfax and split four games with the Explorers in Philly. The Patriots lead the overall series, 6-2. Earlier this season, the Patriots took down the Explorers 75-42 on January 13 in Fairfax. After La Salle's 2-0 start to the game, Mason never trailed again, building an 18-point lead in the first half (31-13) that would extend to 25 and then 30 in the second stanza. Mason held the Explorers to just 26.1 percent shooting (18-69) for the contest.

Javon Greene led the Patriots with 18 points (6-12 FG) in the first meeting to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Redshirt-senior AJ Wilson added his second double-double of the season and ninth of his career with 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Josh Oduro was spectacular in the paint, pouring in 17 points (8-14 FG) to go along with four rebounds and two blocks. Junior Jordan Miller chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.

Select Career Averages vs. La Salle (Min. 2 games played)
Javon Greene (4 games): 14.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 spg, 51.6 FG% (16-31), 47.1 3pt FG% (8-17), 100.0 FT% (17-17)
Jordan Miller (3 games): 10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 spg, 50.0 FG% (14-28), 33.3 3pt FG% (2-6)
AJ Wilson (4 games): 9.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 64.0 FG% (16-25)
Josh Oduro (2 games): 9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 bpg, 57.1 FG% (8-14)

A LOOK AT THE EXPLORERS (9-14, 6-10 A-10, NET #181, KenPom #180)
La Salle was picked to finish 13th in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll. The Explorers went 3-4 in non-conference play and are 6-10 in A-10 games, including wins over Saint Louis, Richmond, Dayton and Duquesne. La Salle is last in the league in defensive efficiency in A-10 games (1.078 points/possession). On offense, the Explorers take the most 3s in the league and rank fifth in 3pt FG percentage (.346). The Explorers have eight players averaging at least 6.0 points per game, led by Sherif Kenney, who tallies a team-high 10.3 points/game and shoots 36.6 percent from long distance. Jack Clark adds 9.8 points and 5.0 rebounds/contest, while freshman Jhamir Brickus chips in 9.2 points and dishes out a team-best 3.4 assists per game.

HISTORY vs. THE BIG 5
Mason is 18-12 all time against members of Philadelphia's "Big 5." Mason is 8-5 against Saint Joseph's, 6-2 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. Mason is 3-0 against Big 5 teams so far this season, including two victories vs. Saint Joseph's and a win over the Explorers.  

UP NEXT
The Patriots head to Richmond to take part in the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship. The event begins March 3 with a pair of first round games between the No. 11-14 seeds at VCU. The second round begins March 4, with games split between the Siegel Center and Robins Center. The bracket will be announced Monday following the conclusion of the league's regular season contests.