Box Score (PDF)
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Behind an outstanding defensive effort down the stretch, the fifth-seeded George Mason University men's basketball team (20-12) is moving on to the A-10 Championship Quarterfinals after knocking off Richmond, 62-57, on Wednesday afternoon inside the Barclays Center.
The win is Mason's seventh-straight and puts the finishing touches on a three-game season sweep of the Spiders. It also gives the Patriots a 20-win season for the first time since 2016-17.
George Mason now faces fourth-seeded Saint Louis on Thursday at 2 p.m. in quarterfinal action.
"The guys fought hard against a team that was inspired and played well," head coach
Kim English said. "Our guys really met the challenge and found a way to win against a team [Richmond] that played incredible yesterday. I'm super proud of our team."
With Richmond ahead 55-51 with 2:08 to go, the Patriots earned a "lock" – or stops on three straight opponent possessions, to fuel the late-game win. Back-to-back big shots, first a floater in the paint from
Justyn Fernandez, then a corner three from
Ronald Polite III, pushed the Patriots in front by one (56-55) with 47 seconds left. Free throws on the next two possessions from Polite III and
DeVon Cooper sealed the win for the Green & Gold.
Senior
Josh Oduro led the Green & Gold with his A-10 leading 13
th double-double of the season, tallying 16 points (5-7 FG, 6-6 FT) to go along with 10 rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes.
Polite III scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and converted four critical field goals in the stanza, while
Davonte Gaines added nine points and made 3-of-5 3-pointers.
George Mason shot 47.8 percent in the deciding second half and flexed its top-25 3pt defense all game long while limiting the Spiders to just 8.3 percent (1-12) for the contest.
The Patriots held a +10 (34-24) edge on the glass and were +6 (10-4) in second chance points.
The Patriots took an early 10-8 lead after a triple from Gaines in the corner. With the Spiders ahead 14-10, the Patriots locked in defensively and held Richmond scoreless for the next 3+ minutes. The resulting 7-0 run put Mason up 17-14 at the 9:11 mark. But from there, the Patriots scored two field goals over the final minutes of the stanza, allowing the Spiders to take a 25-21 lead into halftime.
Richmond extended its advantage to 33-25 at the 16:44 mark of the second half, but from there, Mason fired off an 11-0 run, including triples from Gaines and Polite III, to build a 38-33 edge with 11:20 to play.
The Spiders came back to tie it up at 43-43, then went ahead 49-45 after a 3-point play from Tyler Burton with 5:17 left. Richmond led by four at 55-51, before the Patriots began their defensive-minded comeback.
The win improved George Mason to 5-1 all time in A-10 second round action.
Mason's 2 p.m. contest vs. Saint Louis Thursday will be broadcast on USA Network.
