AMHERST, Mass. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (15-7, 4-5) put together another dramatic late-game rally on Saturday afternoon at UMass but it came up just short as the Minutemen were able to hang on for a 66-65 victory.
 
Trailing 65-63 with 21 seconds left, Mason's Baraka Okojie converted a crafty lay-in to tie the score with under two seconds to go. But an untimely late foul by the Patriots allowed Massachusetts (14-7, 5-4) to escape with a one-point win.
 
"This was a tough loss," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "With 18 offensive rebounds by UMass, we still battled and kept it to a one-possession game and had a chance to send it to overtime. It's frustrating knowing it's our second loss in a row by a total of three points.  But credit goes to UMass, they wanted it and they did exactly what they do on film. They made it difficult for us."
 
Sophomore Keyshawn Hall led the Patriots with an A-10-personal-best 25 points (9-17 FG) to go along with four rebounds and a career-best two steals in 36 minutes.
 
Senior Darius Maddox added 14 points (2-5 3pt FG), while senior Woody Newton grabbed a team-best six rebounds and finished with 11 points.
 
The Patriots limited the Minutemen to just 38.9 percent (21-54) from the floor, but UMass grabbed a game-changing 18 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second chance points for the home team.
 
Mason forced 17 turnovers against a team which ranked in the top-30 nationally in turnover margin while holding a 21-10 edge in points off turnovers for the game.
 
The Patriots trailed 8-2, before using a 16-2 run over seven minutes to build an 18-10 advantage. UMass answered back with a 7-0 spurt to cut it to 18-17, but Mason rocketed right back with a 9-2 run, capped by a Maddox 3-pointer, to take a 27-19 advantage with 3:49 to play in the half. Mason led by four (30-26) at the break.
 
UMass opened the half on a 7-2 run to take a 33-32 lead and increased the edge to four (45-41) at the 11:22 mark of the second stanza. UMass led 50-49 with 6:49 to play, but from there, back-to-back triples from Woody Newton vaulted the Patriots up five (55-50).
 
The Minutemen rattled off a 12-1 run from there to go up 62-56 with 2:11 remaining. But Mason was able to move within two with 21 seconds left (65-63). On the Patriots' final possession, Woody Newton missed a 3-pointer, but Ronald Polite III grabbed a loose ball offensive rebound and found Baraka Okojie for the score to tie it up with under two seconds to go.
 
But Mason committed a foul right before time expired, and UMass converted a free throw to walk off with the one point win.
 
George Mason returns to Fairfax for a Wednesday (Feb. 7) contest vs. Loyola Chicago. Tip-off between the Patriots and Ramblers is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.