Mason Rolls To Ninth Straight Victory

Otis Livingston led the way with 23 points for George Mason against Prairie View. Photo: By George

December 22, 2016
Peter Solari, Contributing Editor  Follow @4PeteSakeNY


The George Mason Patriots men's basketball continued their winning ways in a pre-Christmas matinee at Eaglebank Arena in Fairfax, VA on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore point guard Otis Livingston (Linden, NJ/Linden) led the way for Mason with 23 points and six assists, and senior Marquise Moore (Queens, NY/St. Thomas More) added another double-double, contributing 20 points and 17 rebounds! The 6'1" Moore has taken a huge step his senior season, and leads an undersized George Mason team that plays a lot bigger than they are, and refuses to let it's vertical challenges slow them down.

After starting the season 1-3, the Patriots closed out non-conference play on an incredible nine game winning streak.

The Patriots' resurgence under second year head coach has Mason Nation feeling as good or better than any time since their legendary coach, Jim Larranaga, left the program for Miami (FL) following the 2011 season.

At 10-3, Mason is just one win away from matching their total from the entire 2015-16 season. The Patriots finished 11-21 last season.

Next up, Mason will get eight days off to enjoy the holidays before returning to action on December 30th, to open up Atlantic 10 play against their old friends, the Virginia Commonwealth Rams. The two Virginia institutions have a long history of animosity that goes back to their days in the Colonial Athletic Association, where both teams were perennial contenders to win the conference title. The rivalry reached a new level in 2006 when Mason made a surprise run to the Final Four, and once again in 2011, when the Rams matched that feat.

Since then, VCU (8-3) has transformed it's men's basketball program into a national powerhouse, while Mason has sunken to mediocrity at best, but next Friday's matchup will mark the biggest head-to-head game these teams will play since joining the A-10, which is a good sign for the conference. These two teams used to go to war with each other, and this game was often the highlight of the CAA schedule. Those were good days for both universities, and perhaps we're on the verge of that again. 

Mason and VCU will tip-off next Friday, December 30th at 8:00 PM at Eaglebank Arena in Fairfax. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, as well as WGMU Radio.