WHERE: Capital One Arena
WHEN: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (25-7, 15-3), Saint Joseph's (22-11, 11-7)
TELEVISION: CBS Sports Network
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here 
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

PRE-GAME PEP RALLY: 60 minutes before each George Mason game at the Yard House (812 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001)

WASHINGTON - Second-seeded George Mason (25-7, 13-3) battles No. 6 Saint Joseph's (22-11, 11-7) on Saturday afternoon in A-10 Semifinal action at Capital One Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Hawks is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network, featuring commentary from Tom McCarthy, Chris Walker and AJ Ross. In addition, Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 3:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• It's George Mason's first A-10 semifinal berth in program history. GMU has not competed in a conference tournament semifinal since the 2011 CAA Championship.

• The Patriots reached the semis with a 80-65 win over George Washington Friday night. George Mason outscored the Revs 42-23 in the second half.

• In the win, GMU set program bests for an A-10 Tournament game in steals (12), blocks (8), field goal percentage (.566) and 3pt percentage (.412).

• First Team All-A-10 selection Jalen Haynes led the Patriots with a game-high 24 points (10-17 FG, 4-5 FT). He's averaging 18.6 points over George Mason's past seven games.

• A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Jared Billups exploded for a season-high 18 points (6-6 FG, 2-2 3pt) in the win. His five steals marked an all-time high for a GMU player in an A-10 Tournament game. His 18-point effort is his highest in his two seasons at George Mason and second-highest of his career.

• All-A-10 Third Team pick Darius Maddox added 11 points, K.D. Johnson notched 11 points and a game-high five assists and Brayden O'Connor chipped in 10 points and four assists.

• The Patriots are 23-4 (.852) over their last 27 games.

• A-10 Coach of the Year Tony Skinn ('06) sports an overall win percentage of .703 (45-19) and .667 (24-12) in A-10 games over his first two seasons.

• With its March 8 win at Richmond, George Mason secured a share of the A-10 regular season title for the first time in school history. It's GMU's first regular season title since 2011 (CAA).

• George Mason has reached 15 league and 25 overall victories for the first time in the program's A-10 history (2013-). It's just the third time in school annals GMU has posted 25+ wins.

• The Patriots are 7-0 in their last seven contests decided by five points or less and 3-0 in their last three overtime games.

• GMU is a perfect 15-0 when winning the turnover battle or if turnovers are tied this season.

• The Patriots are 20-2 when shooting 30 percent or better from from 3pt range on the season.

• George Mason is ranked 75th nationally in the Mar. 14 NET. GMU also is 80th in the Ken Pomeroy rankings.

HISTORY vs. SAINT JOSEPH'S
Saturday's matchup marks the 20th all-time meeting between Mason and Saint Joseph's. Mason leads the series, 11-8, although the Hawks hold a 3-1 edge on neutral floors and 2-1 advantage in the A-10 Tournament. GM won 10 of 11 matchups from 2017-22, but the Hawks have stormed back to win three of the past four meetings.

Earlier this season, the Patriots grinded out a 58-57 victory over the Hawks on February 15 in Fairfax. The Patriots trailed by 16 points (37-21) with 2:54 to go in the first half and entered the break down 11 (37-26). But GMU opened the second half on a 12-0 spurt take a 38-37 lead, then hung on late to win the team's 11th-straight game.

"For the first 20 minutes of that game, I thought we were going to give it away," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "This was a phenomenal game. I thought these guys showed the resilience they've shown all season. To come out in the second half and only allow 20 points, that's indicative of who they are. They deserve all the credit down the stretch. I don't care how you get it. I'll take it."

The Patriots held a 32-20 scoring edge in the second half and limited the Hawks to just 33.3 percent (7-21) shooting in the stanza. During the comeback, GM held SJU to scoring droughts of 4:28, 4:08 and 8:00.

Senior Jalen Haynes led the Green & Gold with a monster 22-point effort (8-16 FG). He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists.

UP NEXT
With a victory Saturday, the Patriots would move on to the A-10 Championship Game for the first time in school history. That game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. and be televised nationally on CBS.