WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (8-2), Bridgewater (Va.) (9-2)
SERIES: Series tied, 1-1
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (8-2) wraps up a two-game holiday homestand with a Tuesday night contest vs. Bridgewater (Va.).

Tip-off between the Patriots and Eagles is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday'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 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are 8-2 to begin the season and are 72nd in the NCAA NET rankings.

• Mason is coming off a 62-54 win over Loyola (Md.) on Saturday. Despite shooting a season-low 25 percent from deep (5-20) and 38.8 percent overall, the Patriots played to their pedigree on the defensive end while limiting the Greyhounds to 31 percent shooting overall (18-58) and 26.1 percent (6-23) from 3pt range.

• The Patriots held Loyola to just 34.3 percent from 2pt range Saturday. Mason is fourth nationally in 2pt FG defense (.411) through 10 games this season.

• Sophomore forward Keyshawn Hall paced the Patriots with his A-10-leading fifth double-double of the season. He notched game highs in points (17) and rebounds (13) against the Greyhounds.

• Senior Darius Maddox added 13 points, a season-best two blocks and went a career-best 7-of-7 from the free throw line. He is averaging a team-best 15.6 points over the last five games while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from deep.

• Junior Jared Billups added 10 points and grabbed a season-best eight rebounds vs. the Greyhounds, including five on the offensive end. He has now scored 10+ points in three games this season.

• The Patriots rank third in the A-10 and 31st nationally in 3pt FG percentage (.384). Mason has shot 40 percent or better from deep in five games in 2023-24.

• Mason ranks second in the A-10 in rebounding margin (+4.3). The Patriots are a perfect 8-0 when winning the battle on the boards this season.

• Mason is 6-0 at home this season and has won 20 of its past 22 games inside EagleBank Arena.

• Two of the Patriots' final three non-conference games will be played in Fairfax. T

PORTAL PROWESS
George Mason head coach Tony Skinn inherited just three scholarship players when he took the job in April. He immediately got to work in the portal and brought in a talented group of new student-athletes. All three of the Patriots' top scorers and four of the top six this season are transfer players. Keyshawn Hall (UNLV), Darius Maddox (Virginia Tech), Amari Kelly (UNCW) and Woody Newton (Oklahoma State) combined to average 26.0 points last season at their previous institutions. At Mason, the quartet has combined for 46.7 points/contest.

HISTORY vs. ODAC FOES
George Mason is 19-29 (.396) all time against programs currently in the Div. III Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Patriots' most common foes are Randolph Macon (3-11), Virginia Wesleyan (8-2) and Roanoke (3-6). The bulk of the matchups came during Mason's NAIA and Division II seasons (pre-1979). In the most recent meeting with an ODAC foe, the Patriots knocked off Shenandoah, 120-84, on Nov. 30, 1991 in Fairfax.

HISTORY vs. BRIDGEWATER (VA.)
Tuesday's game marks the third all-time meeting between George Mason and Bridgewater (Va.) in men's basketball. In the most recent matchup, the Patriots claimed an 88-43 victory on Nov. 30, 1985 in just the second-ever game played at EagleBank Arena.

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES (9-2)
Bridgewater (Va.) was picked seventh out of 13 teams in the 2023-24 ODAC Preseason Poll. It's Mason's first regular season game against a non-Div. I opponent since a Nov. 26, 2020 contest vs. then-Div. II Queens. The Eagles are off to a strong 9-2 start in NCAA Div. III and are 3-1 to begin league play. In the team's only other matchup against a Div. 1 foe, Bridgewater fell at Elon, 104-70, on Dec. 15. Bridgewater ranks fifth in the ODAC in scoring offense (75.5 ppg) and leads the league in 3pt field goal defense (.259). Alec Topper paces the team in scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg) while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 55.9 percent (19-34) from 3pt range. Aaron Oates adds 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds/contest, while Jordan Cooper chips in 12.9 points and a team-best 3.3 assists/game.

UP NEXT
The Patriots head to New Orleans for a Friday afternoon battle with AAC foe Tulane. Tip-off between the Patriots and Green Wave is set for 2 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.