by Liz Lizama
The George Mason High School varsity boys basketball season came to an end this Tuesday with a 64-52 home loss to Brunswick High School in the Virginia 2A East quarterfinals.
Mason’s Mustangs led 9-5 at the end of the first quarter, but the Brunswick Bulldogs closed the lead to 22-21, trailing Mason by just one point at halftime.
Brunswick dominated the third quarter 20-9, which gave the Bulldogs a 10-point lead over the Mustangs.With Brunswick going 23-21 in the fourth quarter, Mason could not recover from the third quarter slump despite their efforts in the last period.
Although Brunswick put much pressure on Mason’s offense, junior guard Josh Allen managed to score a season high of 18 points, including four of Mason’s six three pointers. Junior forward Robert Tartt scored 9 points, and junior guard Elliot Mercado added 15.
The 12-point deficit would end Mason’s season with a 24-2 overall record. Brunswick became only the third team this season to score 50 points on the Mustangs. And while the team hoped to make an appearance in their first state tournament since 2012, the 2014-2015 season far exceeded the 11-12 record they finished with last season.
This year’s Mason team was the first to go undefeated in the Bull Run District and notch 20 wins in the regular season. Next year, the Mustangs will return all of its starters in what looks to be a promising season.
