Box Score (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (14-5, 5-1) fed off a raucous EagleBank Arena crowd Saturday afternoon to will itself past a physical George Washington (13-5, 2-3) club, 80-77, in a double overtime classic.
The victory moves the Patriots back into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 standings and improves George Mason to 12-1 at home this season.
"That was a phenomenal atmosphere and a phenomenal college basketball game," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "Shoutout to Mason Nation – they brought the energy. That was high level. We don't win that game without them. We have to keep it going. I have to give credit to these guys – the way we defend, the way we get after it and all the things we've been doing has us trending up. They're doing everything we're asking them to as a coaching staff. I'm so happy for them."
The end of regulation and both overtimes proved relentlessly stressful for both fan bases in the Orange Line rivalry.
The Revolutionaries led by 10 (50-40) with 10:41 to play, but a 9-0 George Mason surge tied the score at 52-52 with 7:35 left. After a back and forth final seven minutes, GW's Rafael Castro was fouled on the Revs' final possession of regulation with one second left. He missed both free throws, giving the Patriots second life heading to the first extra session.
The Patriots led 67-63 with 2:33 left in the first OT, but GW came storming back and Castro redeemed himself with two free throws with five seconds remaining to send the game to a second overtime.
With the score tied 74-74 in the second OT, senior
Jared Billups grabbed a huge offensive rebound and laid it in to make it 76-74. Then, freshman
Justin Begg stole the ball on the ensuing GW possession and fed junior
Giovanni Emejuru, who slammed it home to make it 78-74 with 51 seconds to go.
A Christian Jones 3-pointer pulled GW back within one (78-77) with 40 seconds left, but the Patriots got a stop on the next Revs possession and Billups hit two huge free throws to effectively ice the game for the Green & Gold.
Billups was a monster on both ends of the floor all game long. He pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds, including four offensive, and added eight points, six of which were in the two overtime sessions. In addition to three steals, he finished a team-best +8 when he was on the floor.
Senior
Darius Maddox notched 17 points and six rebounds, while senior
Jalen Haynes added 17 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes.
Johnson chipped in a critical 15 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists in 34 minutes off the bench, while junior
Brayden O'Connor registered 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Patriots held GW to 39.1 percent shooting and a 6-of-27 (.222) mark from beyond the arc. GM also held sizable advantages in points off turnovers (23-12) and bench scoring (31-15). The Green & Gold turned 15 offensive rebounds into a 16-9 edge in second chance points for the game.
The victory is George Mason's 12
th in its last 14 games. The Patriots have now won three of the past four matchups with the Revolutionaries.
Next up, George Mason hits the road for a Tuesday night contest at St. Bonaventure. Tip-off between the Patriots and Bonnies is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
