ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The George Mason University men's basketball team (20-2, 8-1) erased a 13-point lead with seven minutes remaining to push past St. Bonaventure (13-9, 2-7) on Saturday night inside the Reilly Center.
 
The Patriots led for just 17 seconds, but excellent defense and timely shot making down the stretch proved to be the difference as GMU outscored the Bonnies 17-4 over the final five minutes.
 
The Green & Gold have now won two-straight in the Reilly Center, after breaking a 21-year drought last season.
 
The 2025-26 Patriots are the fastest team in school history to reach the 20-win milestone.
 
"Grit is what Team 60 embodies," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "We've done it all season long. Good, bad or ugly, we find a way to finish and win games. This is not an easy place to win, let alone an easy place to mount a comeback. I'll take that win."
 
Kory Mincy led the Patriots with a team-high 22 points (9-15 FG), while Fatt Hill added 16 points (8-11 FG) in 30 minutes. Jahari Long dished out a career-best nine assists and chipped in 13 points in 39 minutes of work.
 
Despite the Bonnies shooting 55 percent and the Patriots committing 16 turnovers, GMU cut its teeth with a sizable advantage in points in the paint (46-32) and bench scoring (31-5).
 
The Bonnies made nine of their first 16 shots and jumped out to a 21-10 advantage. A 6-0 Patriots run cut the lead to five (21-16), but St. Bonaventure got it back to 11 at 30-19 with 5:58 to go in the opening half. The Bonnies led 39-26 with 19 seconds to play in the half, but a 3-point play from Mincy and last-second lay-in from Hill fueled a 5-0 spurt for GMU. The Patriots trailed at the half by eight (39-31).
 
GMU cut the lead to five at 39-34, but the Bonnies made nine of their first 12 shots in the second half to extend the edge to 13 (58-45). SBU led by as many as 14 (63-49) and 13 (66-53) with 7:05 remaining.
 
But from there, the Patriots mounted their incredible comeback. GMU allowed just four points over the next 5+ minutes, and utilized a 12-3 run, capped by a Malik Presley 3-pointer, to cut the lead to four (69-65) with 3:46 left. A Mincy triple cut it to one (70-69) with 2:08 to go, then after a SBU free throw, a back door cut and finish from Mincy tied it up at 71-71 with 1:17 left.
 
The Bonnies hit another free throw to go up 72-71, but a strong finish from Hill gave the Patriots their first lead at 73-72 with 33 seconds left.
 
After SBU tied at 73-73, the Patriots had the ball with 21 seconds to go. Long was fouled with four seconds left and hit both free throws (75-73). The Bonnies then threw the ball away with one second left and the Patriots escaped the Reilly Center with the victory.
 
Next up, George Mason will begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 4) with a 7 p.m. contest vs. Duquesne. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.