FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team held a +24 scoring edge in the second half en route to a 73-56 triumph over American Sunday afternoon inside EagleBank Arena.
 
Mason (2-1) trailed hot-shooting American 34-27 at the break, but the Patriots found their groove on both sides of the ball in the second half. The Patriots held the Eagles to just 33.3 percent from the floor in that stanza and shot 55.2 percent (16-29) on the other end to take control of the game.
 
In all, the Patriots outscored the Eagles 46-22 in the second half.
 
"We didn't start off the game well at all," head coach Kim English said. "I'm really proud of the guys for responding [in the second half]. I give American a ton of credit. A lot of their guys did a great job working on their games and improving in the offseason. We picked up the defensive pressure in the second half and the results were much better."
 
After AU made eight 3-pointers and 40 percent of their triples in the opening half, the Patriots limited the Eagles to just 3-of-11 (.273) shooting from deep in the second stanza.
 
Graduate student Victor Bailey Jr. led the Patriots with a season-best 23 points on a highly efficient shooting night (8-10 FG, 4-4 3pt FG). He also grabbed six rebounds in 29 minutes of work.
 
Fellow grad DeVon Cooper tied his career best with five 3-pointers on just seven attempts, while finishing with 18 points.
 
Senior Josh Oduro facilitated beautifully out of double teams for much of the game. He set a new career high with six assists while also tallying 13 points and five rebounds.
 
Junior point guard Ronald Polite III dished out five assists while committing just one turnover and finished with eight points.
 
Mason held a 30-14 edge in points in the paint and was +14 (41-27) on the glass. The Patriots also enjoyed a +9 advantage in second chance points (12-3).
 
After the Patriots trailed 34-27 at the half, the Green & Gold used a 9-2 run to tie the game at 36-36 just three minutes into the second. Mason took the lead at 43-41, then built it out to eight (51-43) with 11:58 to go.
 
American moved back within two (53-51) with 9:17 to play, but from there, the Patriots locked in on defense and closed the game on a 20-5 run.
 
Mason now heads to the U.S. Virgin Islands to play three games in the Paradise Jam next week. Mason opens the event on St. Thomas Friday with an 8 p.m. contest against Boston College. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.