FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (19-2, 7-1) put together one if its finest defensive outings of the season during a 60-52 victory over Davidson (12-8, 4-4) Wednesday night inside EagleBank Arena.
The Patriots held the Wildcats to just 18 second half points and 27.8 percent shooting in the period to claim the victory.
The win moves George Mason to 7-1 in league play and a record 19-2 overall.
"I thought this was a phenomenal collective effort from these guys tonight," head coach
Tony Skinn ('06) said. "Davidson's played their best basketball on the road. From start to finish, in many doses, this was our best defensive effort of the season. It's very hard to guard a team like that with all the different things that they do offensively."
Kory Mincy led George Mason with a game-high 19 points (7-12 FG, 4-7 3pt) to go with six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 38 minutes.
Fatt Hill added 14 points, with eight coming late in the second half, and dished out three assists.
Jahari Long chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
The Patriots led by as many as 11 (24-13) in the first half, but a 21-4 run to close the half by the Wildcats gave Davidson a 34-28 advantage at the break.
George Mason blitzed the Wildcats with a 10-0 run to open the second half and took a 38-34 lead. The Wildcats tied it at 43-43 at the 12:26 mark, but back-to-back triples from Mincy pushed George Mason back up six (49-43).
From there, the Patriots held Davidson scoreless for more than seven minutes while extending the edge to nine (55-46) with 1:41 left.
The win improves the Patriots to 14-0 at home this season and 46-5 in EagleBank Arena under Skinn. In addition, GMU has won 14 straight Atlantic 10 home games.
