Box Score (PDF)

WASHINGTON – The George Mason University men's basketball team (18-5, 9-1 A-10) continued its historic start to league play with its eighth-straight win, a gritty 53-50 victory at George Washington (15-8, 4-6) Wednesday night inside the Smith Center.
 
The Patriots led by 13 (35-22) with 10:07 remaining, but a 13-2 surge by the Revolutionaries pushed GW into the lead at 45-44. GW moved in front by two (50-48) with 1:56 to go, but the Patriots locked in on defense and did not allow another point for the remainder of the game.
 
The victory keeps George Mason a full game ahead of VCU for first place in the A-10 and three games ahead of fourth in the league standings. George Mason's overall 18-5 record matches the program's best start since 2010-11. It's also just GM's third win in the Smith Center in 20 all-time games in the building.

The Patriots have now won 16 of their past 18 contests.
 
"It's that time of the year," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "There's a lot of teams that get put in this situation down the stretch and they don't come out with this win. You just have to be able to take it. We were able to squeeze out a win on the road in conference play. I'll take it."
 
Senior Jalen Haynes led the Patriots with an A-10 season-best 17 points (7-12 FG) and rounded out the stat sheet with an impressive seven rebounds, three steals and three assists in 29 minutes.
 
Senior Darius Maddox added 10 points (3-6 3pt FG), while graduate student Zach Anderson notched seven points (2-4 3pt) and an A-10 season-best six rebounds.
 
And defensively, senior K.D. Johnson notched a season-best four steals, including a key one on GW's second to last possession with five seconds left.

Freshman Justin Begg dished out a team-best four assists in 15 minutes.

GM held the Revolutionaries to just 13 first-half points and a 26.1 field goal percentage in the first half. The Revs shot 12 percent (3-25) from deep for the game.
 
The Patriots committed six turnovers over the first 12 minutes, but GM's stout defense held GW to 0-for-10 from 3-point range to start. That allowed the Green & Gold to build a 12-8 advantage with 8:41 to play in the opening half. GM took a 19-13 lead into the break.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers from O'Connor and Maddox extended the lead to 10 (29-19) at the 16:39 mark of the second half. The Patriots extended the edge to 12 (34-22) on a Zach Anderson triple and got it to 13 (35-22) after a Giovanni Emejuru free throw with 10:07 to go.
 
Once GW surged back and took the 50-48 lead, GM quickly stormed back and a Haynes lay-in pushed the Patriots up 51-50 with 46 seconds left. From there, GM got three more stops to clinch the win.
 
Next up, George Mason returns home to host its annual Homecoming Game on Saturday (Feb. 8). The Patriots will do battle with Rhode Island at 4 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena. The game will be televised regionally on Monumental Sports Network and broadcast nationally on ESPN+.