 |
| [ PHOTO: GEORGE MASON PATRIOTS ] |
February 24, 2019
Peter Solari, Editor in Chief Tweet to @4PeteSakeNY
The George Mason men's basketball team blew a double-digit lead and a golden opportunity in the Atlantic 10 Saturday, as they dropped a tough one, 79-78, to Duquesne on homecoming at EagleBank Arena.
With the loss, the Patriots fell to 15-12 on the season and into a three-way tie for 4th place in the A-10, along with the aforementioned Dukes and St. Bonaventure, at 9-5.
Here's the story from George Mason University Athletics:
Offensively, Mason put forth a solid effort with a balanced attack. Senior Otis Livingston II and Sophomore Javon Greene led the way for the Patriots, scoring 18 points apiece. Livingston also dished out a game-high 5 assists, and Greene pulled down 6 rebounds.
Junior Justin Kier contributed 14 and 7 rebounds, and redshirt-junior Jared Reuter added 9 points and 6 rebounds of his own. Freshman ordan Miller also continued to shine. The first year sensation notched 11 rebounds, including a career-high 10 on the offensive end.
The Dukes countered with their own, and perhaps more impressive balanced attack, led by Tavian Dunn-Martin's game-high 22 points. Frankie Hughes chipped in 15 points and Marcus Weathers grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with his 14 points. Michael Hughes also scored 11 points.
"That one really stinks," Mason coach Dave Paulsen said. "I thought the game was decided near the end of the first half where we got sloppy and casual with the lead. We got up and we tried to hit the knockout punch. We need to show maturity. There's no such thing as a knock-out punch in basketball. When you give a good team like Duquesne a sense of life, then you're going to be in for what we had in the second half."
At the risk of pulverizing a dead horse, it needs to be pointed out once again that if Mason isn't playing ferocious defense, they're probably in trouble. Such was the case on Saturday
The Patriots were sharp defensively in the first half, holding Duquesne to 37% shooting from the floor, the Dukes turned it on in the second frame. Duquesne shot 53% from the field in the second half, and that combined with Mason's inability to get key stops down the stretch, was just a little too much for the Patriots to overcome.
With the top four teams slated to earn a double-bye into the quarterfinals of next months A-10 Tournament in Brooklyn, NY, this is the type of loss that could come back to bite Mason in a big way.
The Patriots have four games left on their schedule before Brooklyn, and they'll undoubtedly need to be in "must win" mode for all of them if they have any hopes of clinching one of those double-byes i the tournament.
The homestretch gets underway this Wednesday February 27th, when George Mason will host Richmond at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Tip-off is set for 7 PM ET with the game streaming on ESPN+.
#GeorgeMason #GMU #GoMason #MasonNation #GetPatriotic #FillEBA #A10MBB
The George Mason men's basketball team blew a double-digit lead and a golden opportunity in the Atlantic 10 Saturday, as they dropped a tough one, 79-78, to Duquesne on homecoming at EagleBank Arena.
Dukes Erase Double-Digit Deficit for Seventh Time to Defeat George Mason https://t.co/G39X7NtJby— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) February 24, 2019
With the loss, the Patriots fell to 15-12 on the season and into a three-way tie for 4th place in the A-10, along with the aforementioned Dukes and St. Bonaventure, at 9-5.
Here's the story from George Mason University Athletics:
Mason made six of its first nine shots and rocketed out of the gate to lead 17-2 just six minutes into the game. That run included a pair of 3-pointers from Livingston II. Duquesne cut it to 11 (19-8), but the Patriots used a 6-0 run to extend the edge to 19 (31-12) after a 3-pointer from Greene at the 9:03 mark. Mason led 38-24 with 4:02 to go in the stanza, but Duquesne closed the half on a 10-4 spurt to take a 42-34 lead into the break. The Patriots got the lead back to 10 (46-36) at the 17:42 mark of the second half, but Duquesne used a 6-0 spurt to move within four (46-42). The Dukes were within one (54-53) with 11:41 to go, but Mason ripped off five-straight, including a nice jumper from Jamal Hartwell II, to go back up six (59-53) at the 9:04 mark. A 3-pointer from Livingston II kept Mason ahead by five (66-61) with 7:08 to go. With the Patriots leading 70-66, Duquesne made its move, scoring five-straight to take its first lead of the game (71-70) with 4:53 left. Mason quickly went back up two (73-71) on a triple from Greene and led by one (76-75) after Kier nailed a 3-pointer with 2:37 to go. Greene converted a jumper with 1:57 left to make it 78-75, but that's the last time the Patriots would score. Frankie Hughes hit a big 3-pointer to tie the game at 78. Then, Michael Hughes was fouled with 57 seconds left and made the game-winning free throw. The Patriots could not score on their final two possessions. Mason had a good look at the end, but a well-placed shot from Reuter rimmed out.
Here's another look at the controversial finish of George Mason and Duquesne. Should this have been a foul? pic.twitter.com/YsPMCOgAN9— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 23, 2019
Offensively, Mason put forth a solid effort with a balanced attack. Senior Otis Livingston II and Sophomore Javon Greene led the way for the Patriots, scoring 18 points apiece. Livingston also dished out a game-high 5 assists, and Greene pulled down 6 rebounds.
Junior Justin Kier contributed 14 and 7 rebounds, and redshirt-junior Jared Reuter added 9 points and 6 rebounds of his own. Freshman ordan Miller also continued to shine. The first year sensation notched 11 rebounds, including a career-high 10 on the offensive end.
The Dukes countered with their own, and perhaps more impressive balanced attack, led by Tavian Dunn-Martin's game-high 22 points. Frankie Hughes chipped in 15 points and Marcus Weathers grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with his 14 points. Michael Hughes also scored 11 points.
"That one really stinks," Mason coach Dave Paulsen said. "I thought the game was decided near the end of the first half where we got sloppy and casual with the lead. We got up and we tried to hit the knockout punch. We need to show maturity. There's no such thing as a knock-out punch in basketball. When you give a good team like Duquesne a sense of life, then you're going to be in for what we had in the second half."
At the risk of pulverizing a dead horse, it needs to be pointed out once again that if Mason isn't playing ferocious defense, they're probably in trouble. Such was the case on Saturday
The Patriots were sharp defensively in the first half, holding Duquesne to 37% shooting from the floor, the Dukes turned it on in the second frame. Duquesne shot 53% from the field in the second half, and that combined with Mason's inability to get key stops down the stretch, was just a little too much for the Patriots to overcome.
With the top four teams slated to earn a double-bye into the quarterfinals of next months A-10 Tournament in Brooklyn, NY, this is the type of loss that could come back to bite Mason in a big way.
George Mason lost a heartbreaker to Duquesne yesterday, putting a significant dent in the team's double-bye chances. Here are my three main takeaways from the Homecoming game:https://t.co/H4cDR6dxy6— Ross (@RossShinberg) February 24, 2019
The Patriots have four games left on their schedule before Brooklyn, and they'll undoubtedly need to be in "must win" mode for all of them if they have any hopes of clinching one of those double-byes i the tournament.
The homestretch gets underway this Wednesday February 27th, when George Mason will host Richmond at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Tip-off is set for 7 PM ET with the game streaming on ESPN+.
#GeorgeMason #GMU #GoMason #MasonNation #GetPatriotic #FillEBA #A10MBB
