HARRISONBURG, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (5-3) coupled its usual defensive prowess with some clutch offensive performances late to pick up a 66-61 victory at James Madison Friday afternoon in Harrisonburg.
 
George Mason trailed 50-48 with 8:02 remaining, but used a 10-3 run to go up five at 58-53. James Madison (4-4) would not move closer than two (63-61) for the remainder of the game.
 
Senior Jalen Haynes used his superior physical presence to pace the Patriot offense in the second stanza. He scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and scored six straight for the Green & Gold down the stretch. He went 8-of-13 from the floor and also grabbed a season-best eight rebounds in 30 minutes of work.
 
Senior K.D. Johnson notched 12 of his season-best 14 points in the deciding second half to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
 
Fellow senior Darius Maddox added 13 points and a team-best three steals, but left the game midway through the second half with a lower body injury.
 
George Mason shot 48.9 percent for the game and used their interior strength to make 19-of-34 (.559) attempts from inside the arc. That led to a sizable 34-22 edge in points in the paint for the game.
 
The Patriots limited the Dukes, who entered the game top-60 nationally in 3-pointers made/game and percentage, to just 25 percent (10-40) from beyond the arc. Overall, the Dukes shot 36 percent (23-64) on their home floor.
 
The Patriots held early leads of 7-2 and 15-9 before the Dukes put together a string of second chance opportunities to tie the score at 16-16. After ties of 19-19, 21-21 and 23-23, GM took a 26-24 advantage into the break.
 
With the score tied at 28 early in the second half, the Patriots ripped off a 7-0 run to go up 35-28. The sequence was highlighted by a beautiful lob from Maddox to Brayden O'Connor.
 
The Patriots extended the edge to nine at 42-33, but a 6-0 run by the Dukes pulled JMU back within three (42-39) with 12:41 to play. K.D. Johnson hit a 3-pointer to put Mason up 45-39, but at that point, the Dukes raced back with an 8-0 run to build a 47-45 advantage.
 
The Patriots retook the lead at 51-50, then extended it to four (54-50) on a Zach Anderson 3-pointer with 5:26 to play. Three-straight buckets from Haynes pushed GM's lead to five (62-57) with 1:32 remaining, but JMU hit a 3-pointer to cut it to two (63-61) with 18 seconds left.
 
GM made 1-of-2 free throws on the other end, but the Patriots got a big stop with four seconds left and made their free throws to ice the win.
 
The victory marks Mason's 24^th in the last 27 meetings against former conference rival James Madison.
 
Next up, the Patriots return home for a pair of contests. First up, George Mason hosts UNC Asheville on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.