FAIRFAX, Va. EagleBank Arena has seen plenty of big afternoons, but this one felt different. The George Mason Patriots, still unbeaten and still getting better by the week, slammed the door on rival James Madison in the second half Saturday, rolling to an 82–66 win that pushes Mason to 8–0, the best start in program history.
The victory also nudges a long-running tug-of-war back to dead even. Mason and JMU now sit tied 51–51 in the all-time series. For a rivalry that rarely stays quiet for long, it was a fitting reset button.
Head coach Tony Skinn (‘06), soaking in the noise and the moment, called it the kind of game that tests a team early and tells you who they are.
“This was a great, great college basketball game,” Skinn said afterward. “EBA was phenomenal. This was an electric game and our fans were high level. That’s a team that’s going to win their conference. It felt like a conference game today. It was one of the first times all season we faced adversity and we responded. Tremendous win and I’m just happy for our guys.”
If adversity showed up, junior Kory Mincy didn’t seem to notice. Fresh off a scorching Sunshine Slam run in Florida that earned him tournament MVP honors, Mincy again played like a man on a deadline. He dropped a game-high 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, lived at the line (6-for-6), and added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Over the Patriots’ 3–0 week, he averaged 23 points and hit nearly 54 percent from the floor, the heartbeat of an offense that’s starting to hum.
He had plenty of help. Riley Allenspach powered in 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and hauled down a team-best nine rebounds. Masai Troutman (16 points, three assists) and Fatt Hill (15 points, four boards, two assists) brought steady pressure from the wings. And Mason’s bench? A full-on wave. The Patriots won the reserve battle 34–11, turning minutes into momentum.
The numbers underline how decisive the second half really was. Mason shot 54.5 percent for the game (24-for-44), then clamped JMU to 26.5 percent after halftime. The Dukes spent the first half in control, leading most of the way and stretching the margin to seven early (21–14). At the break, JMU still held a 35–32 edge.
But the Patriots came out sharper, louder, and more physical. A 7–0 run flipped the scoreboard to 39–35 less than four minutes into the half. JMU pushed back, cutting it to one at 48–47 with 11:54 to go, but that was the last real breath the Dukes got. Mason answered with a 14–6 burst that blew the game open to a 12-point lead (68–56) with 4:52 left. From there, the Patriots never let the margin dip below eight.
Next up, Mason stays home for the second game of a two-game homestand, welcoming Ivy League visitor Cornell on Tuesday night. Tip-off at EagleBank Arena is set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 2.
For now, the Patriots are 8–0, the building is buzzing, and Fairfax has a team worth circling on the calendar. The season’s still young, but Mason is already playing like it knows exactly where it wants to go.
