FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (9-4) won its seventh game in the last eight contests Saturday afternoon, knocking off Mt. St. Mary's (8-5) by the score of 64-56 inside EagleBank Arena.
Much like the past two months, the Patriots thrived off their top-40 defense, limiting the Mountaineers, who were coming off a win at Miami (Fla.), to just 33.9 percent from the floor and a 26.9 percent mark (7-26) from 3pt range.
The victory improved the Green & Gold to 9-4 entering the start of A-10 play on Tuesday.
"That's a really good team," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "They've already won eight games and it won't be a surprise to me if they win their league. To me, that was an A-10 game. There were some things we could've done to prevent the back and forth. But again, a win is a win. We fought through it and I'm happy about that."
Senior
Jalen Haynes continued his torrid pace of late, notching a game-high 18 points to go along with a career-best 16 rebounds. He also notched two steals and made 6-of-9 shots from the floor. Haynes has now notched four double-doubles in his past five games and has posted 10+ points in eight-straight contests.
Haynes is just the third Patriot to post 16+ rebounds in a game in the past nine seasons.
Senior
Darius Maddox added 13 points (5-11 FG), three rebounds and two assists, while junior
Brayden O'Connor tallied nine points, two assists, two steals and two rebounds.
GM held a +11 (44-33) edge on the glass in the game and turned nine offensive rebounds into a 16-3 edge in second chance points.
The Patriots turned it over 10 times in the first half, allowing the Mountaineers to post a 17-2 edge in points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action. Mt. St. Mary's took a 30-28 edge into the break, but the Patriots were +10 (36-26) in the second half and led by as many as 15 points (63-48) late in the second stanza.
Next up, George Mason opens Atlantic 10 play with a New Year's Eve showdown against Davidson (10-3) inside EagleBank Arena. Tip-off between the Patriots and Wildcats is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
