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| [ PHOTO: DAYTON DAILY NEWS ] |
Peter Solari, Editor in Chief Follow @4PeteSakeNY
The George Mason men's basketball team is on a roll!
The Patriots continued their winning ways on Wednesday night with an impressive 67-63 victory over Dayton at UD Arena in Ohio. With the win, Mason improves to 12-8 on the season and 6-1 in the Atlantic 10, including a perfect 4-0 on the road in conference games.
The loss drops Dayton to 12-7 on the year and 4-2 in the league. The Flyers also fell to 9-2 at UD Arena, with their only other home-loss coming at the hands of #22 Mississippi State back in November.
Early on, this was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams going up by as many as 6 before the Flyers took a 33-31 lead into the break. But, as we've seen so many times already this season, the Patriots are a different team in the second half.
More from George Mason University Athletics:
Mason finished the game on a 7-0 run to seal the victory, and after shooting only 39% from the field in the first half, improved that number to 55% in the deciding stanza.
Perhaps even more impressive than that was the Patriots' defensive performance. Dayton, who came into the contest shooting 50% from the field, which is third best in the country, were limited to just 43% from the field, by Mason's stifling defense, which continues to be their strong-point.
"That was a great win and a gritty effort," coach Dave Paulsen said after the game. "Our guys played so well defensively, especially down the stretch. What I liked is when we got down late, there was no panic in our guys. We came down, executed and got some good shots. It's very gratifying for our guys."
And don't get too excited, Mason Nation, but check out who's at the top of the A-10 standings:
Redshirt junior Jarred Reuter led the way for Mason, scoring 14 points and pulling down 4 rebounds, while senior Otis Livingston chipped in 13 points and dished out a team-high 4 assists.
In what was a quiet night for the reigning A-10 Player of the Week, junior Justin Kier scored 12 points and had 2 steals for the Patriots.
The Flyers were led by Josh Cunningham's game-high 15 points and 5 rebounds. Teammate Ryan Mikesell finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds of his own, and Trey Landers had a game-high 8 rebounds for Dayton.
Up next, the Patriots return home to host George Washington in the Revolutionary Rivalry, this Saturday, January 26th.
Tip-off is set for 7 PM ET at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA. The game will be broadcast locally on MASN2 and streamed nationally ESPN+.
#GetPatriotic #MasonNation #A10MBB #RevRivalry
The Patriots continued their winning ways on Wednesday night with an impressive 67-63 victory over Dayton at UD Arena in Ohio. With the win, Mason improves to 12-8 on the season and 6-1 in the Atlantic 10, including a perfect 4-0 on the road in conference games.
George Mason is a perfect 4-0 on the road in A-10 conference play with wins over Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's, Massachusetts, and Dayton. Not to mention... a close loss to Kansas St. to close non-con play, a team that's drastically improved. Call Paulsen's squad ROAD WARRIORS.— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) January 24, 2019
The loss drops Dayton to 12-7 on the year and 4-2 in the league. The Flyers also fell to 9-2 at UD Arena, with their only other home-loss coming at the hands of #22 Mississippi State back in November.
Early on, this was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams going up by as many as 6 before the Flyers took a 33-31 lead into the break. But, as we've seen so many times already this season, the Patriots are a different team in the second half.
More from George Mason University Athletics:
Dayton extended the lead to four (37-33) early in the second half, but Mason answered with a 6-0 spurt to take a 40-37 lead. The teams went back and forth over the next 5+ minutes, before Mason took a 51-47 edge at the 9:39 mark after a nifty lay-in from Reuter.
Mason led 58-55 after a big 3-pointer from Kier with 6:20 to go, but from there, the Flyers used an 8-2 spurt to go back up 3 (63-60) with under three minutes to go. Mason raced back with two straight buckets from Reuter and Ian Boyd to claim a 64-63 advantage and made it 65-63 after a 1-of-2 free throw trip for Kier.
Mason then got three key stops down the stretch and Reuter made the final two free throws to secure the win for the Green & Gold.
Mason finished the game on a 7-0 run to seal the victory, and after shooting only 39% from the field in the first half, improved that number to 55% in the deciding stanza.
Perhaps even more impressive than that was the Patriots' defensive performance. Dayton, who came into the contest shooting 50% from the field, which is third best in the country, were limited to just 43% from the field, by Mason's stifling defense, which continues to be their strong-point.
"That was a great win and a gritty effort," coach Dave Paulsen said after the game. "Our guys played so well defensively, especially down the stretch. What I liked is when we got down late, there was no panic in our guys. We came down, executed and got some good shots. It's very gratifying for our guys."
And don't get too excited, Mason Nation, but check out who's at the top of the A-10 standings:
Did you know @MasonMBB is in first place?— Mason Athletics (@MasonAthletics) January 24, 2019
Come out and #FillEBA
Saturday, Jan 26 7:00 PM
George Mason vs GW
EagleBank Arena #RevRivalryhttps://t.co/LcmXdpY8Wu pic.twitter.com/u72993g2y1
Redshirt junior Jarred Reuter led the way for Mason, scoring 14 points and pulling down 4 rebounds, while senior Otis Livingston chipped in 13 points and dished out a team-high 4 assists.
In what was a quiet night for the reigning A-10 Player of the Week, junior Justin Kier scored 12 points and had 2 steals for the Patriots.
The Flyers were led by Josh Cunningham's game-high 15 points and 5 rebounds. Teammate Ryan Mikesell finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds of his own, and Trey Landers had a game-high 8 rebounds for Dayton.
Up next, the Patriots return home to host George Washington in the Revolutionary Rivalry, this Saturday, January 26th.
The #RevRivalry continues Saturday vs GW!— Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) January 23, 2019
🏀 Free Green Game t-shirts (while supplies last) in partnership w/Office of Sustainability
🏀 Postgame autographs
🏀 WaPo Family Four pack:
- 4 🎟
- 4 slices of 🍕
- 4 🥤
- Just $64
- Use Code “POST”: https://t.co/yP2aElVbIX pic.twitter.com/v7c3Jb2Ki6
Tip-off is set for 7 PM ET at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA. The game will be broadcast locally on MASN2 and streamed nationally ESPN+.
#GetPatriotic #MasonNation #A10MBB #RevRivalry
