Photo Credit: wvsports.com

Box Score (PDF)

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team played with poise and conviction in a narrow 85-78 exhibition setback to West Virginia Friday night at the WVU Coliseum.
 
Mason led for 25:30 of the 40-min contest and by as many as 10 (43-33) late in the first half. The Patriots were up one (71-70) with 4:05 to go, but a tough flagrant foul call, followed soon after by a WVU 3-point play, fueled a 10-0 run to put West Virginia up 80-71 with 2:08 left. Mason cut it to four (80-76) with under a minute to play, but WVU was able to hold on for the victory.
 
"First off, everyone in our program will be praying for Akok Akok tonight and we wish him a fast and healthy recovery," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "Our guys battled tonight. We're starting to learn who we are as a team and I'm excited about that. Foul trouble affected what I think will be our regular rotation but it also allowed some other guys to go out there and compete."
 
Mason shot an efficient 48.1 percent (25-52) from the floor and 43.8 percent (7-16) from 3-point range while committing just nine turnovers. But the Mountaineers held a 30-24 edge in points in the paint and turned 11 offensive rebounds into a +8 (21-13) edge in second chance points.
 
"We took care of the basketball, but technique-wise, we need to go back into the film and see where we can improve," Skinn said. "We can't let up in those clutch moments and I thought that ultimately was the difference in the game."
 
Senior Darius Maddox led the Green & Gold with 18 points (8-11 FG) to go along with three rebounds in 32 minutes of work. The Bowie, Md., product averaged a team-best 15.5 points over the Patriots' two exhibition games.
 
Sophomore Keyshawn Hall added 12 points (5-10 FG), while freshman Baraka Okojie chipped in 11 points (7-8 FT), five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Ronald Polite III (11 pts, 2-4 3pt FG) and Woody Newton (11 pts, 6 reb) also reached double figures for the Green & Gold.
 
The Patriots and Mountaineers played to an early 16-16 tie, before West Virginia moved ahead 27-22 at the 9:36 mark of the opening half. Mason roared back with a 10-0 run, capped by an Okojie lay-in, that pushed the Patriots up five (32-27) at 7:10. Mason extended the edge to 10 (43-33) and took a 44-39 advantage into the half.
 
Mason led 59-56 with 11:30 to play and kept that margin after a Polite III triple made it 69-66 with 5:59 left. With Mason ahead 71-70, the flagrant foul was called on Jared Billups for not allowing Quinn Slazinski proper landing space after a 3-pointer. He hit all three free throws to give WVU the 73-71 lead and the ball, where the Mountaineers subsequently scored. Then, a possession later, a 3-point play from Jesse Edwards, initially ruled a travel by the officials, extended the WVU run and put the Mountaineers up 77-71 with 2:49 left. Mason had a couple chances to move closer than four over the final two minutes, but WVU was able to hang on for the home win.
 
Next up, the Patriots host Monmouth in the program's regular season opener on Monday, November 6 inside EagleBank Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. The first 2000 fans in attendance will receive a free Patriot Pressure t-shirt.