WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Saturday - 2 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (4-1), East Carolina (4-2)
SERIES: George Mason leads, 33-15
LAST MEETING: Mason def. ECU, 77-71, on Dec. 2, 2008 in Greenville, N.C.
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GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

PROMOTION: The first 1000 fans will receive a free roll of Patriot wrapping paper. There will also be free holiday cookies on the concourse
TOY DRIVE: Fans who bring a toy to the EagleBank Arena box office will receive $5 off a $25 ticket

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (4-1) returns to Fairfax for a Thanksgiving Weekend contest vs. East Carolina on Saturday inside EagleBank Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Pirates is set for 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots split a pair of tight contests in the Jacksonville Classic, falling to Charlotte (54-49) on Sunday before claiming a victory over South Dakota State (73-71) Monday.

• In the win over the Jackrabbits, Mason hit a season-best 10 3-pointers on 26 attempts (.385) and had four players reach double figures in the scoring column.

• Sophomore Keyshawn Hall led the Patriots with 21 points and a career-best 15 rebounds in the win. It marked just the ninth 20+ point, 15+ rebound effort by a Patriot since 2010.

• Hall shared A-10 Player of the Week Honors with Dayton's Nate Santos on Monday. He is averaging 22.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and shooting 49 percent over Mason's past three games.

• Graduate forward Amari Kelly notched 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. SDSU to record his second career double-double and first in a Mason uniform. He's scored 10+ points in all five games this season and is 28th nationally in free throw percentage (.944).

• The Patriots rank second in the A-10 in rebounding margin (+7.4) and scoring defense (62.8 ppg allowed).

• Hall and Kelly both tallied double-doubles vs. SDSU. It marked the first time two Mason players accomplished the feat in a game since Josh Oduro and Jordan Miller in a Feb. 24, 2021 contest vs. GW.

• Hall ranks third nationally in defensive rebounds/game (9.6), ninth in overall rebounding (11.0/game) and 10th in double-doubles (3). He also leads the A-10 in those categories and is fifth in the league in scoring (15.8 ppg).

• Senior Darius Maddox averaged 13.5 points over the two games in St. Augustine. He leads the Patriots in 3pt FG made (11) and 3pt FG% (.393) this season.

• Freshman guard Baraka Okojie registered a career-best 12 points (4-5 FG) vs. South Dakota State and made a personal-best two 3-pointers on three attempts (.667). He leads the Patriots in bench minutes (20.6/game) through five contests.

• Mason will play a brand of basketball dubbed "Patriot Pressure" this season, which emphasizes creating discomfort for opposing offenses. Through five games, Patriot Pressure has been on display, as the Patriots rank 15th nationally in 2pt FG defense (.412), 47th in scoring defense (60.8 ppg allowed) and 65th in overall FG defense (.390).

• The Patriots are 3-0 at home so far this season and have won 17 of their past 19 contests inside EagleBank Arena.

HISTORY vs. THE AAC
Mason has tallied a 43-23 all time record against opponents from the American Athletic Conference. The bulk of those contests came against East Carolina (33-15) when both programs were a part of the CAA. The Patriots' other most common AAC foes are Wichita State (3-2), Charlotte (3-1) and Tulane (2-1). The Patriots knocked off Tulane 62-56, last season in Chicago on Dec. 17, 2022. This season, the Patriots will once again battle the Green Wave, but this time in New Orleans on Dec. 22. The Patriots also matched up with Charlotte earlier this week in the Jacksonville Classic, with the 49ers claiming a 54-49 victory.

HISTORY vs. EAST CAROLINA
Saturday's game marks the 49th all time meeting between George Mason and East Carolina in men's basketball. It's just the fifth matchup between the programs since ECU departed the CAA in  2001. Mason has won eight of the last nine matchups dating back to 1999. The Patriots' 69.7 team field goal percentage against ECU on Feb. 22, 1982 still ranks as the top single game mark in school history. George Mason won that game, 70-57.

A LOOK AT THE PIRATES (4-2, 0-0 American; KenPom #193)
East Carolina was picked to finish fifth in the 2023-24 AAC preseason poll. The Pirates are 4-2 to begin the campaign, with all of those games contested at Williams Arena in Greenville. ECU proves talented on the offensive end of the floor, where the Pirates score 82 points per game and sport an effective field goal percentage of 54.3 (61st nationally). ECU also gets to the line and averages 26.8 free throws/game (20th nationally).

Preseason All-AAC Second Team pick RJ Felton Jr. leads the Pirates and and ranks 34th nationally in scoring (20.3 ppg). He also pulls down 7.8 rebounds per contest and shoots 40 percent (12-30) from 3pt range. Brandon Johnson has played in four of the team's six games and chips in 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Ezra Ausar (14.5 ppg) and Quentin Diboundje (11.2 ppg) also average double figures for the Pirates.

UP NEXT
The Patriots will remain in Fairfax to host NJIT on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at 7 p.m. The game is dubbed Night of Champions. At halftime, Mason will honor its 2023 A-10 Championship teams, including baseball, softball and women's outdoor track & field. Individual conference champions from swimming & diving, track & field and wrestling also will be recognized.