Box Score (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team withstood blow after blow from a talented Hofstra group but ultimately gritted out a strong 81-77 victory over the Pride Wednesday night inside EagleBank Arena.
Mason (4-4) trailed 72-69 with less than three minutes to play in overtime, but at that point, graduate guard
DeVon Cooper took over. The Louisville product scored Mason's next 10 points in the extra session, including six critical free throws, to ultimately push the Patriots over the top. Two big stops by the Patriots late ultimately sealed the win.
"I'm really proud of our guys for a tough, gutsy win against a worthy opponent," head coach
Kim English said. "There's a lot of history in this game as former CAA rivals. We have a ton of respect for Coach Claxton and that program. We didn't play a great game for big parts of it, but we found a way to play well in stretches to gut out the victory."
Mason attacked the paint throughout the contest and held a 36-28 edge in interior scoring for the game. Much of that work came courtesy of senior stalwart
Josh Oduro, who tallied a season-best 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three assists. It marked his second double-double of the season and 11
th of his career.
Junior point guard
Ronald Polite III tallied 14 points (5-9 FG), five assists and three rebounds, while Cooper finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Senior
Davonte Gaines notched 11 points (3-4 FG) and six rebounds in 23 minutes of work.
Hofstra held an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers after 15 Mason miscues, but the Patriots ultimately dodged that bullet and stepped up the defense late, holding the Pride to 25 percent shooting (2-8) in the extra session.
Mason trailed 31-26 at the break and 61-54 with 5:27 to go. The Patriots rocketed back with a 13-3 run to move ahead 67-64 with 33 seconds left. With Mason ahead 68-66 with 11 seconds remaining, the Patriots fouled Hofstra's Aaron Estrada, who made the basket and had a chance to put the Pride ahead with a free throw. But he missed the chance and Mason forced overtime, where the Patriots made the plays to win.
Mason is now 4-0 inside EagleBank Arena this season.
Next up, Mason hosts MAC favorite Toledo on Saturday afternoon in EagleBank Arena. Tip-off between the Patriots and Rockets is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on MASN and ESPN+.
