WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (14-14, 7-8), UMass (13-16, 6-11)
SERIES: Mason leads, 11-4
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GIVEAWAY: The first 1000 fans will receive a free sustainable water bottle for the annual Green Game
RECOGNITION: Mason will honor the four members of its senior class with a ceremony beginning at 3:40 p.m.

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team will honor its four seniors Saturday during the Patriots' home finale in EagleBank Arena vs. UMass.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Minutemen is set for 4 p.m. Saturday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the A-10 Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are coming off a 73-62 setback at A-10-leading Davidson Wednesday.

• Four Patriots tallied 11 points to lead the offensive attack, including junior Davonte Gaines, who made 3-of-5 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds.

• Freshman Blake Jones chipped in a career-best seven points (3-3 FG) to go along with four rebounds in 16 minutes.

• After struggling from the 3-point line over the previous three games (.247, 20-81), Mason returned to form from beyond the arc against the Wildcats. The Patriots hit 11-of-27 (.407) from deep in the contest.

• The Patriots rank 26th nationally and second in the A-10 with 9.4 3pt FG made/game. That's a school record by a sizable margin (7.3/game, 1987-88). Mason's 264 total 3-pointers this season is 34 better than the previous school record of 230, set in 2017-18.

• Junior Josh Oduro leads the A-10 in scoring (18.1 ppg). If he finishes the season in first, he'd claim Mason's first individual conference scoring title since George Evans in 1998-99 (17.2 ppg). Oduro's season average is the highest by a Patriot since Evans in 2000-01 (18.4 ppg).

• Graduate student DeVon Cooper ranks 34th nationally in 3pt FG% and his 40.2 percent clip on the year is third all time at Mason for a student-athlete with at least 150 attempts.

• D'Shawn Schwartz was one of the four Patriots with 11 points Wednesday. He's now scored 10+ points in 13 of 15 A-10 contests this season. He ranks seventh in the league in scoring in A-10 games (16.5 ppg).

HISTORY vs. MASSACHUSETTS
Saturday's matchup marks the 16th all-time meeting between Mason and UMass. The Patriots hold a 11-4 advantage in the series and have won 10 of the past 11 meetings. The Patriots are 4-2 all time against UMass in Fairfax. It's a popcorn worthy A-10 series, as 10 of the past 13 meetings have been decided by six points or less and four of the past nine contests have gone to overtime.

Earlier this season, Mason won 72-62 in Amherst on January 30. The Patriots led by 10 at the half (37-27) and went up by as many as 22 (68-46) in the second half. Three student-athletes reached double figures for the Green & Gold, led by graduate student D'Shawn Schwartz, who tallied a game-high 15 points (6-11 FG) to go along with three assists in 31 minutes. It marked his eighth-straight game with at least 14 points. Junior Davonte Gaines tallied 14 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes, while graduate student DeVon Cooper notched 12 points, four assists and three steals while making 3 of 4 3-pointers on the day.

A LOOK AT THE MINUTEMEN (13-16, 6-11 A-10; KenPom 207, NET 190)
Massachusetts was picked to finish ninth in the 2021-22 A-10 preseason poll. The Minutemen notched a 7-5 non-conference record, including home wins over Big Ten foes Penn State (81-56) and Rutgers (85-83). UMass is 10-5 inside the Mullins Center but just 2-8 on the road. The Minutemen have struggled defensively, where they rank 344th out of 358 teams in efficiency (1.139 points/possession allowed). On the offensive end, UMass is 50th (1.11 points/possession). The Minutemen rank 29th nationally in 3pt FG percentage (.374). Noah Fernandes leads the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and ranks 32nd nationally with 5.2 assists per contest. Rich Kelly adds 13.1 points and shoots 50.5 percent from deep (46-91). C.J. Kelly (12.2 ppg) and Trent Buttrick (11.9 ppg) also average double figures for the Minutemen.

UP NEXT
Mason has clinched an opening round bye for the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship, held at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The Patriots will open play on Thursday, March 10.

TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS
• Mason is the No. 7 seed with a victory and a George Washington loss
• Mason is the No. 8 seed with a George Washington win/Fordham loss (regardless of Mason outcome Saturday)
• Mason is the No. 9 seed with a loss and a George Washington loss/Fordham win