Box Score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team made all the right plays late during a dramatic 70-66 victory over La Salle in front of 6,513 fans on Homecoming Saturday.
 
Mason trailed 54-51 with 6:16 to go, but the Patriots ripped off a 6-0 run to go up 58-54 with 4:03 left. La Salle tied it up at 60-60 with 2:28 remaining, but Ronald Polite III hit a huge 3-pointer on the ensuing Patriot possession. Mason got it up to six (69-63) with 13 seconds left to clinch the victory.
 
The win is Mason's third-straight and improves the Green & Gold to 13-2 at home this season.
 
"This was a good win for our group against the hottest team in our league," head coach Kim English said. "Basketball is a game of runs and there were a lot of ups and downs in this game. I thought our guys showed some resiliency in the second half getting down and then working through a rough patch offensively. We found a way to get stops and create some scores at the free throw line when our offense wasn't fluid."
 
The Patriots drew 29 La Salle fouls and got to the line 34 times, helping to buttress the Mason offense which struggled from the floor (22-56 FG, 5-21 3pt FG).
 
Senior Josh Oduro continued his torrid play of late, tallying a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 35 minutes of work.
 
Junior Ronald Polite III added 15 points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists, while graduate guard DeVon Cooper chipped in 13 points and tied his career best with nine rebounds.
 
The Patriots jumped out to a 16-8 lead, but La Salle fought back to build a 26-23 advantage at the 6:45 mark of the stanza. Mason held a 33-32 edge at the break.
 
La Salle led by as many as six (39-33) early in the second half. The Patriots cut into the lead time after time, but could not get over the hump until an Oduro driving lay-in tied the game up at 54-54 with 5:26 to go.
 
The Patriots held the Explorers to just 2-of-11 (.182) from 3pt range in the second half and 42.2 percent overall for the game.
 
George Mason is back in action next Saturday (Feb. 25) when the Patriots travel to Dayton. The 6 p.m. contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU.