Friday, Novemeber 11th in Fairfax, VA the George Mason Men’s basketball team came out ready to go from the start. The Patriots built an early lead and went on to an 83-69 victory over the Longwood Lancers in front of 5,185 fans inside EagleBank Arena.
The victory comes on the heels of Monday Night’s 70-52 opening loss to #15th ranked Auburn. Friday’s victory felt very different from the start; the Patriots came with energy on both sides of the ball. With contributions from 10 players, they were spreading the scoring early. Junior guard Ronald Polite Jr. ran the point and starters Victor Bailey Jr., Davonte ‘Ticket’ Gaines, DeVon Cooper and Josh Oduro got the scoring going early.
Sunday, November 13th the Patriots faced off against the American University Eagles. Mason came away with the win 73-56.
This one was not decided until the 2nd half. The Eagles opened the game hot, hitting 8 3-point field goals. The Patriots found themselves in an early hole that carried all the way over into halftime where they trailed 34-27.
Mason opened the 2nd half with much tighter defense and started hitting their shots. Their starters contributed all but 6 points. The Patriots finished their 2 game home stand with a record of 2-1.
Mason will head on the road to compete in the 2022 Paradise Jam, Friday night with an 8 p.m. contest vs. Boston College on St. Thomas. The game can be seen on ESPN3.