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Peter Solari, Editor in Chief Follow @4PeteSakeNY
As the great Porky Pig used to say, "Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks!"
The George Mason men's basketball season ended Friday afternoon with a 68-57 loss to 4th seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Mason's season is now likely over, and it ended in the A-10 quarterfinals for the third consecutive season. The Patriots finished the year with an 18-15 overall record, and while there certainly are some positives to take away from it, the end-result is a bit of a letdown considering the lofty expectations the team had back in the Fall.
“We had some ups and downs,” junior Justin Kier said after the game, “but we had a lot of ups, and those are the things you remember.”
Friday's loss also marks the end of the legendary Mason career of Otis Livingston II. The four-year starter will go down in history as one the greats in the George Mason basketball.
Livingston finishes his college career fourth in school history in points scored with 1,865, second in assists with 493, third in 3-point field goals with 203, and first in both free throw percentage at .859, and starts with 132.
He will be missed, but always remembered in Mason Nation.
On the court, the Patriots were playing catch-up all day, but managed to keep the game interesting down to the final minutes Friday. Mason was visibly fatigued, especially down the stretch, after playing a nail-biter against George Washington on Thursday, but it's hard to pin the loss solely on that, because it didn't look all that different from Patriots' season as a whole.
Here's the recap from George Mason University Athletics:
The Patriots were again led by Kier, who had clearly run out of gas by the end of this one after playing 39 minutes the day before. The junior finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds on the day.
Freshman Jordan Miller continued to impress and wasn't visibly rattled by the big spot, as he dropped 13 points and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds on the Bonnies.
In his final game as a Patriot, Livingston finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
“We didn’t play well offensively, but we fought and competed and dealt with [foul trouble] and scratched and clawed and got back in the game,” GMU coach Dave Paulsen said. “That’s kind of the way the season has been: a lot of injuries, a lot of adversity, and every step of the way, this group of guys has been a lot of fun to coach.”
Mason started off slow defensively, but did turn it around and limited St. Bonaventure to 33% shooting in the second half. Mason also held a 43-34 advantage on the glass and outscored the Bonnies 26-16 in the paint. But none of that was enough to overcome their offensive woes.
The Patriots shot just 35% for the game and were an abysmal 8-for-28 from the beyond the arc. Mason also only converted on 7 of their 14 free throw attempts and had 9 shots blocked. Playing from behind, GMU spent much of the afternoon settling for deep shots, regardless of the fact that they were dominant in the paint.
St. Bonaventure, on the other hand, shot an impressive 42% from deep and torched the Patriots with 10 3-pointers.
The Bonnies were led by two impressive freshmen, Dominick Welch and Kyle Lofton, who both played the entire game and scored 20 points apiece. Welch and Lofton were responsible for all 10 of St. Bonaventure's 3-point field goals.
“Every time you turned around, [Welch] hit a backbreaking three,” said Paulsen. “Most of them were challenged pretty well.”
Senior LaDarien Griffin, who also did not sit, chipped in 10 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bonnies.
The Patriots now look ahead to the 2020 campaign, minus the services of the aforementioned Livingston, and Jaier Grayer, whose absence this season, can not be understated. Though the senior appeared in only seven games this year due to a foot injury, he started at least 31 games for Mason the previous three seasons and finishes his Mason career as an 11 PPG scorer. While he now plans to leave the program as a graduate transfer, it's hard to imagine that the presence of a healthy Grayer, wouldn't have given the Patriots a boost this season.
Aside from Livingston and Grayer, who wasn't around most of this year anyway, Mason will be returning the bulk of their squad next season, led by Kier, the A-10's Most Improved Player in 2019.
“He has a chance to be one of the best players in the league,” Paulsen said of Kier. “We don’t want to burden him with undue expectations but also getting him to see what he is capable of when he is completely locked in like he has been the last three or four games.”
While there is much optimism surrounding the Patriots and the future of their program, it was the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure who stole the limelight on Friday, and showed us all that their future, and present, is just as promising.
#A10MBB #A10BKLYN #GetPatriotic #GeorgeMason #GMU #MasonNation
As the great Porky Pig used to say, "Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks!"
The George Mason men's basketball season ended Friday afternoon with a 68-57 loss to 4th seeded St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
George Mason is ousted by St. Bonaventure, but Patriots’ focus is forward: The Patriots were knocked out in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinals for the third consecutive year, 68-57 to the Bonnies. https://t.co/GdE4YFmBfQ pic.twitter.com/BQHnDJFijv— StubOrder.com 🎟💺 (@StubOrder) March 16, 2019
Mason's season is now likely over, and it ended in the A-10 quarterfinals for the third consecutive season. The Patriots finished the year with an 18-15 overall record, and while there certainly are some positives to take away from it, the end-result is a bit of a letdown considering the lofty expectations the team had back in the Fall.
“We had some ups and downs,” junior Justin Kier said after the game, “but we had a lot of ups, and those are the things you remember.”
Friday's loss also marks the end of the legendary Mason career of Otis Livingston II. The four-year starter will go down in history as one the greats in the George Mason basketball.
Livingston finishes his college career fourth in school history in points scored with 1,865, second in assists with 493, third in 3-point field goals with 203, and first in both free throw percentage at .859, and starts with 132.
He will be missed, but always remembered in Mason Nation.
On the court, the Patriots were playing catch-up all day, but managed to keep the game interesting down to the final minutes Friday. Mason was visibly fatigued, especially down the stretch, after playing a nail-biter against George Washington on Thursday, but it's hard to pin the loss solely on that, because it didn't look all that different from Patriots' season as a whole.
Here's the recap from George Mason University Athletics:
Mason forced six straight missed attempts from the Bonnies to open the game as the Green & Gold jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Patriots would make just one of their next nine shots, as SBU used a 15-3 spurt to move in front by 11 (20-9) at the 8:47 mark of the opening half. Bona went up 12 at 23-11, but on the strength of back-to-back triples from Kier, Mason pulled back to within four (23-19) with 5:33 to go in the stanza. A 7-0 spurt put Bona back up 11 (30-19). Mason cut it to six at 30-24, but the Patriots could not score over the final 2:34 as Bona went up 10 (34-24) at the break. The Bonnies extended the lead to 15 at 42-27, but the Patriots scored eight of the next 11 to move back within eight at 45-37. A triple from Livingston II pulled Mason back within seven (49-42) with 9:31 to go in the game, but the Bonnies answered with eight-straight to move ahead by 15 at 57-42. SBU led 60-49 with 5:05 remaining, but at that point, Mason used an 8-2 spurt to get back within seven (62-55) with 2:26 left. Mason had a chance to get it to five after a stop but could not convert, and SBU held on from there to wrap up the victory.
The Patriots were again led by Kier, who had clearly run out of gas by the end of this one after playing 39 minutes the day before. The junior finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds on the day.
Freshman Jordan Miller continued to impress and wasn't visibly rattled by the big spot, as he dropped 13 points and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds on the Bonnies.
In his final game as a Patriot, Livingston finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
“We didn’t play well offensively, but we fought and competed and dealt with [foul trouble] and scratched and clawed and got back in the game,” GMU coach Dave Paulsen said. “That’s kind of the way the season has been: a lot of injuries, a lot of adversity, and every step of the way, this group of guys has been a lot of fun to coach.”
Mason started off slow defensively, but did turn it around and limited St. Bonaventure to 33% shooting in the second half. Mason also held a 43-34 advantage on the glass and outscored the Bonnies 26-16 in the paint. But none of that was enough to overcome their offensive woes.
The Patriots shot just 35% for the game and were an abysmal 8-for-28 from the beyond the arc. Mason also only converted on 7 of their 14 free throw attempts and had 9 shots blocked. Playing from behind, GMU spent much of the afternoon settling for deep shots, regardless of the fact that they were dominant in the paint.
St. Bonaventure, on the other hand, shot an impressive 42% from deep and torched the Patriots with 10 3-pointers.
The Bonnies were led by two impressive freshmen, Dominick Welch and Kyle Lofton, who both played the entire game and scored 20 points apiece. Welch and Lofton were responsible for all 10 of St. Bonaventure's 3-point field goals.
“Every time you turned around, [Welch] hit a backbreaking three,” said Paulsen. “Most of them were challenged pretty well.”
Senior LaDarien Griffin, who also did not sit, chipped in 10 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bonnies.
The Patriots now look ahead to the 2020 campaign, minus the services of the aforementioned Livingston, and Jaier Grayer, whose absence this season, can not be understated. Though the senior appeared in only seven games this year due to a foot injury, he started at least 31 games for Mason the previous three seasons and finishes his Mason career as an 11 PPG scorer. While he now plans to leave the program as a graduate transfer, it's hard to imagine that the presence of a healthy Grayer, wouldn't have given the Patriots a boost this season.
George Mason is going to miss Jaire Grayer a hell of a lot more than Otis Livingston on the court. You can bank on that. I always felt he would be the guy who needed to take charge of the team offensively after Marqueese Moore graduated. Kid is special for the A10.— phillyfansince88 (@phillyfansince8) March 15, 2019
Aside from Livingston and Grayer, who wasn't around most of this year anyway, Mason will be returning the bulk of their squad next season, led by Kier, the A-10's Most Improved Player in 2019.
“He has a chance to be one of the best players in the league,” Paulsen said of Kier. “We don’t want to burden him with undue expectations but also getting him to see what he is capable of when he is completely locked in like he has been the last three or four games.”
While there is much optimism surrounding the Patriots and the future of their program, it was the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure who stole the limelight on Friday, and showed us all that their future, and present, is just as promising.
#A10MBB #A10BKLYN #GetPatriotic #GeorgeMason #GMU #MasonNation
