WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m. 
RECORDS: George Mason (1-0), Austin Peay (1-0)
SERIES: Mason leads, 2-0
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Austin Peay, 66-60, in Fairfax on Mar. 19, 2003
TELEVISION: MASN2
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
PROMOTION: Military Appreciation Night; Christian & Scooby Halftime Act; Gold Rush for Mason Students

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (1-0) hosts Austin Peay (1-0) as part of Military Appreciation Night on Friday inside EagleBank Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Governors is set for 7 p.m. Friday's game will be broadcast on MASN2 and ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland and John Feinstein. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots opened the 2023-24 campaign with a 72-61 triumph over Monmouth on Monday. The victory improved Mason to 34-24 all time in season openers. It was the Patriots' fifth victory in their last seven campaign debuts.

• Mason limited the Eagles to just 33.8 percent shooting (22-65), including a paltry 32.5 percent mark (13-40) from inside the arc. Through the Patriots' first three games (including the two exhibitions), Mason is limiting its opponents to just 33.3 percent (33-99) from 2-point range.

• Two fresh faces led the Patriots against the Hawks. Graduate Amari Kelly tallied a career-high 17 points in the win, while senior Darius Maddox matched him with 17 points and made a personal-best five 3-pointers on eight attempts.

• Sophomore Keyshawn Hall grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds and added seven points, while point guards Ronald Polite III and Baraka Okojie combined for nine assists.

• New head coach Tony Skinn ('06) put together a revamped roster for the 2023-24 season which includes 11 new players. Five student-athletes return from last season's team, led by Preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection Ronald Polite III.

• The team will play a brand of basketball dubbed "Patriot Pressure" this season. That moniker was on display during the team's first three contests (including exhibitions), as George Mason averaged 6.7 steals/game and held opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting (63-176).

• George Mason will play at least five KenPom top-150 opponents in the non-conference slate, starting with Cornell (130) on Nov. 15. The Patriots will draw either UCF (66) or South Dakota State (140) in the Jacksonville Classic. Then, they'll play contests vs. East Carolina (132) and at Tennessee (9), Toledo (118) and Tulane (101) in December.

HISTORY vs. AUSTIN PEAY
Friday's game marks the third all time between George Mason and Austin Peay. In the first meeting between the schools, Mason defeated the Governors, 84-62, on December 14, 1985, as part of a tournament at Marshall University. Former Patriot great Rob Rose went 9-for-10 from the floor in the victory. In the most recent matchup, the Patriots knocked off the Governors, 66-60, on March 19, 2003 in the Postseason NIT Round of 32. The victory sent Mason to the Sweet 16 in Eugene, Oregon. Current Mason Director of Player Development Lamar Butler ('06) led the Patriots with 19 points in the win, while Head Coach Tony Skinn ('06) had eight points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 29 minutes of work.

A LOOK AT THE GOVERNORS (0-0, 0-0 A-SUN; KenPom #203)
Austin Peay was picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Sun preseason poll and received one first place vote. New head coach Corey Gipson is an alum and arrives in Clarksville after one season at Northwestern State, where he led the Demons to 22 wins, a victory over top-25 Texas Tech and the No. 2 seed in the Southland Tournament. Six of his players from that team made the pilgrimage to Austin Peay, including Ja'Monta Black, who led the Govs with 27 points (9-21 3pt FG) in their 90-72 win over Life University Monday night. Quinnipiac transfer Dezi Jones added 23 points and made eight of his 11 field goal attempts. Austin Peay made 17-of-41 3-pointers (.415) in Monday's victory.

UP NEXT
Mason wraps up its season-opening homestand with a Wednesday night contest vs. Cornell. Tip-off between the Patriots and Big Red is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.