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| [ PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST ] |
December 22, 2018
Peter Solari, Editor in Chief Follow @4PeteSakeNY
Perhaps it's too late, but the George Mason men's basketball team is finally showing signs of being the force many expected them to be before the season began.
Having not played since a December 7th victory over former-Colonial Athletic Association rival James Madison, Mason pounded another old CAA foe, Navy, 84-63 on Friday night at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA. Here's more from George Mason University Athletics:
Senior Otis Livingston continued his hot shooting, dropping a season-high 30 points for the Patriots, while passing Sherrod Wright for sixth place on Mason's all-time scoring list. Junior Justin Kier contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds to record his second straight double-double, and Ian Boyd added 12 points and 7 rebounds of his own. Senior Jaire Grayer missed his fifth consecutive game with a foot injury.
Hasan Abdullah led the way for Navy with 16 points. George Kiernan added 13 points, while Cam Davis contributed 11 points for the Midshipmen, who dropped to 3-7 on the season.
With the win, Mason improved to .500 at 6-6, and will have a chance to close out their non-conference schedule with a winning record when they visit Kansas State next Saturday.
After a tough test at Kansas State, Mason will open Atlantic 10 play at St. Joseph's on January 3rd. If the Patriots have any hopes of playing significant postseason basketball, Livingston and co. will have to put on quite a show in their conference slate.
Perhaps it's too late, but the George Mason men's basketball team is finally showing signs of being the force many expected them to be before the season began.
Having not played since a December 7th victory over former-Colonial Athletic Association rival James Madison, Mason pounded another old CAA foe, Navy, 84-63 on Friday night at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA. Here's more from George Mason University Athletics:
The Patriots came out strong on both ends of the floor in the first half. Mason jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and held Navy to just a 3-for-16 start from the floor. A 10-3 run pushed the Patriot edge to 13 (20-7) at the 11:56 mark, but Navy rallied to get back within seven (23-16) with 6:30 to go in the half. Mason got it back to 10 at 29-29 and closed the half on an 8-0 spurt to take a 39-22 edge into the break. Heading into the half, the Midshipmen were at just 27 percent shooting, while Mason was at 50 percent. The Patriots held a 16-2 edge in points in the paint for the stanza. In the second half, Mason was able to maintain their lead over the Midshipmen. Despite Navy cutting the lead to just 10 (46-36) at the 15:36 mark, Navy could not move closer for the remainder of the game. Livingston continued his hot streak heading into the second half, as he was perfect 5-5 from field goal range. After Navy moved within 10, the Patriots used a 10-3 spurt to build the lead back to 15 (54-39) with 13:23 to play. Mason used another 8-0 spurt to take their largest lead of the game (65-42) with 9:44 to go.
Senior Otis Livingston continued his hot shooting, dropping a season-high 30 points for the Patriots, while passing Sherrod Wright for sixth place on Mason's all-time scoring list. Junior Justin Kier contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds to record his second straight double-double, and Ian Boyd added 12 points and 7 rebounds of his own. Senior Jaire Grayer missed his fifth consecutive game with a foot injury.
All George Mason fans have been waiting for the performance that Otis Livingston II had last night against Navy. https://t.co/1AMraPiFSD— Tyler Byrum (@theTylerByrum) December 22, 2018
Hasan Abdullah led the way for Navy with 16 points. George Kiernan added 13 points, while Cam Davis contributed 11 points for the Midshipmen, who dropped to 3-7 on the season.
With the win, Mason improved to .500 at 6-6, and will have a chance to close out their non-conference schedule with a winning record when they visit Kansas State next Saturday.
After a tough test at Kansas State, Mason will open Atlantic 10 play at St. Joseph's on January 3rd. If the Patriots have any hopes of playing significant postseason basketball, Livingston and co. will have to put on quite a show in their conference slate.
