Box Score (PDF)

AUBURN, Ala. – The George Mason University men's basketball team fought and battled through a sizable opening test in a hostile environment Monday night, but ultimately dropped a 70-52 contest to 15^th-ranked Auburn inside sold out Neville Arena.
 
After falling behind by 18 in the first half, Mason trailed by just seven (31-24) at the break. The Patriots were within nine (61-52) midway through the second half, but could not get any closer for the remainder of the game.
 
The difference in the contest came in two key facets.

Auburn grabbed 22 offensive rebounds to hold a +15 (25-10) edge in second chance points. And the Tigers turned 19 Mason turnovers into 21 points.
 
"We knew exactly what it was. Our ball security and defensive rebounding are our No. 1 areas we need to improve upon as a program," head coach Kim English said. "We wanted to test it out against the best right off the bat. We need to keep improving and keep getting better. This is a humbling experience for our group. We will get better, but the consistency of their pressure and the continuity of their group just overwhelmed us tonight."
 
Junior Ronald Polite III led the Green & Gold with team highs in points (10, 2-4 3pt FG) and assists (4) while grabbing four rebounds and committing just two turnovers in 30 minutes of action. It marked the first time in his career he's led the Patriots in scoring.
 
Graduate student Victor Bailey Jr. added nine points and five rebounds in his Mason debut, while senior Josh Oduro added eight points and four rebounds.
 
Mason limited Auburn to 33.8 percent (24-71) from the floor and a paltry 16 percent (4-25) from 3pt range. The Patriots made seven 3-pointers but were just 14-of-36 (.389) from 2-point range.
 
The Tigers jumped out to an early 13-2 lead and led 24-7 at the 9:47 mark of the first half. Mason was 3-of-9 from the floor through those first 10+ minutes with eight turnovers proving costly.
 
Auburn extended the lead to 18 (29-11), but over the final 4:50 of the stanza, Mason blitzed the Tigers with a 13-2 run to trail by just seven (31-24) at the break. That spurt included triples from Oduro, Gaines and Polite III.
 
The Tigers opened the second half on a 9-3 run to go back up 13 (40-27). Mason cut it to nine (51-42) on a lay-in from Saquan Singleton with 9:50 left, but the Tigers were +10 (19-9) over the next eight minutes to go up 19 with under two minutes to play.
 
The game marked Mason's first season opener on the road since 2008-09. Auburn announced a sellout crowd of 9,121.
 
The Patriots host 2022 Big South Champion Longwood Friday for the Patriots' home opener inside EagleBank Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Lancers are picked first in the 2022-23 Big South preseason poll.