Box Score (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (3-0) put its versatility on display Wednesday night during an efficient 90-83 victory over Cornell (3-1) inside EagleBank Arena.
A game after winning by 20+ points on Friday night, Mason found itself in an up-and-down, shot-making donnybrook with the Big Red on Wednesday.
In a contest that featured 17 lead changes and six ties, Mason used its experience down the stretch to rattle off a late 16-7 run and seal the win.
"This what we expected," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "Cornell did what they do and credit to their team for their execution. We knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but we responded in the second half and I'm just glad that we're in here 3-0."
Sophomore
Keyshawn Hall put together a breakout performance to help push the Patriots to victory. The Cleveland, Ohio, product shattered his previous career-high of 19 points with a monster 29-point, 12-rebound effort. Hall made 11-of-18 field goal attempts, knocked down 3-of-6 triples and dished out a team-high three assists.
Graduate forward
Amari Kelly added his third 10+ point effort in as many games this season, tallying 17 points (8-11 FG), seven rebounds and two blocks in just 20 minutes of work.
Freshman point guard
Baraka Okojie notched a career-best 11 points and made 7-of-8 free throw attempts, while senior guard
Ronald Polite III chipped in 10 points (2-3 3pt FG) and two assists.
Cornell hit a whopping 14 3-pointers on 29 attempts (.483), but the Patriots withstood that bombardment with a focused effort both from the perimeter and inside the arc. Mason shot 40.9 percent from deep (9-22) and used its size advantage to enjoy a 44-28 edge in points in the paint. The Patriots also grabbed 15 offensive boards and held a +10 advantage (20-10) in second chance points.
After a back and forth beginning to the game, Mason built a 30-24 edge with 6:24 to play in the opening half. Cornell responded with an 11-4 spurt to take a 35-34 advantage, but Mason scored the final three points of the stanza to lead 43-42 at the break.
Mason extended the edge to 53-45 after a 3-point play from Kelly at the 17:02 mark of the second half. The Patriots increased the lead to eight (66-58) with 9:51 left, but Cornell moved back within one at 68-67.
A Hall putback gave Mason a 74-67 lead, but again Cornell fought back, with back-to-back triples to make it 74-73 with 4:19 left. At that point, Mason buckled down and used that key 16-7 run to close it out. That stretch included a huge 3-pointer from
Darius Maddox as the shot clock ran down and a monster dunk from
Malik Henry with under a minute to play.
Mason now heads to Florida for two games in the Jacksonville Classic. The Patriots open the event on Sunday vs. Charlotte. Tip-off in St. Augustine between the Patriots and 49ers is set for 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on PassDaBallLive.com.
