RICHMOND, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (21-6, 12-2) fell victim to the turnover bug in a 70-54 setback at VCU (22-5, 12-2) on Saturday afternoon inside the Siegel Center.
 
GM led 24-23 at the half, but nine second half turnovers by the Patriots helped the Rams fuel a 15-0 run that created separation between the teams early in the second stanza. The Green &  Gold ended the game with 14 turnovers and the Rams held a +11 (20-9) edge in points off turnovers for the contest.
 
The Patriots held the Rams to 24 percent (6-25) in the first half, but VCU connected on 15-of-29 attempts (.517) in the second half and made seven triples in the period.
 
Senior Darius Maddox notched 12 points and three rebounds, while senior K.D. Johnson added 12 points and team highs in assists (3) and steals (2). Senior Jalen Haynes added 10 points and eight rebounds, while senior Woody Newton chipped in eight points (3-4 FG, 2-3 3pt).
 
GM shot 35.4 percent for the game and made 5-of-19 3-pointers (.263).
 
The Patriots held VCU to a 1-of-7 shooting start to build an early 7-2 advantage. GM led by that margin (15-10) with 6:37 to play in the first half, but VCU responded with a 7-0 spurt to take a 17-15 advantage. GM went back up two at 21-19 and took a 24-23 lead into halftime.
 
The Patriots led 29-27 at the 18:03 mark of the second half, but a 15-0 VCU propelled the Rams into a 42-29 advantage with 14:08 to play.
 
GM moved back within eight at 47-39, but that's as close as the Patriots would get for the remainder of the game.
 
At 12-2 in the A-10, the Patriots are still in prime position to win or share the A-10 regular season championship.
 
 First up in that quest, George Mason returns home to host Fordham on Wednesday (Feb. 26) in Fairfax. Tip-off between the Patriots and Rams is set for 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.