MILWAUKEE – The George Mason University men's basketball team trailed by just two (61-59) with 6:18 to go on Friday night in Milwaukee, but a late surge by No. 18/17 Marquette pushed the Golden Eagles to an 82-63 win inside the Al McGuire Center.
 
Played before a sold out crowd of 3,700 students, the Patriots and Golden Eagles were locked in a one or two possession game for much of the second half. Mason led by five (41-36) early in the second stanza and one with 13:36 to play. But the Golden Eagles closed the game on a 21-4 run to take the victory.
 
The Patriots, down 13-0 to begin the game, ultimately were doomed by their start and finish as the Golden Eagles outscored GM by 30 (34-4) in those segments of the contest. The Patriots were +11 (59-48) in the middle 32 minutes of the game.

George Mason held the Golden Eagles to just 28.1 percent (9-32) shooting in the opening half and continued the pressure for much of the second, before MU closed the game on an offensive blitz.

"It's unfortunate because I don't think the score is a reflection of how we played for 35 to 36 minutes of the game," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "Our lack of discipline let them off the hook. They didn't have to guard us, we just played one on one basketball to end the game. We have to be able to learn from those situations. We didn't get sped up for most of the game but we got sped up in the most important part of the game. We just have to be better down the stretch. "
 
Senior Darius Maddox led the Green & Gold with 20 points (7-12 FG, 3-4 3pt FG) in 33 minutes, while junior Brayden O'Connor added 11 points and three assists in 29 minutes.
 
Senior K.D. Johnson notched 10 points (6-6 FT) and three assists in 25 minutes and senior Jared Billups chipped in eight points (4-6 FG) and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Marquette forced 19 Patriot turnovers which led to 22 Marquette points. And 14 offensive rebounds by the Golden Eagles pushed MU to a +9 (15-6) edge in second chance points.
 
The Green & Gold held a 19-7 advantage in bench scoring.
 
The Patriots committed five early turnovers and struggled from the field early as the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 13-0 lead. But from there, the Patriots surged back with a 12-3 run to cut the edge to four (16-12) at the 12:35 mark of the opening half.
 
Marquette went back up nine at 29-20, but back-to-back triples from Brayden O'Connor moved the Patriots within six (29-26) with 5:15 left in the half. George Mason tied it up at 34 on a jumper from Zach Anderson and took a 37-36 advantage into the half.
 
The Patriots extended the lead to five (41-36) early in the second half, but Marquette responded with a 10-0 run to retake a 5-point edge at 46-41. GM pushed back in front 51-50 on a Maddox triple at the 13:36 mark.
 
An 8-0 spurt by Marquette put the Golden Eagles up 66-59 with 5:08 left, and Marquette extended that run to 21-4 to close the game.