FAIRFAX, Va. George Mason heads into the holiday break at 11-1, and on paper that looks exactly like where the Patriots want to be.
On the floor Sunday, it was a lot messier.
Mason beat Loyola (Md.), but it was an ugly win — one that exposed as much as it rewarded. The Patriots lacked the defensive intensity that normally defines them, trailed for long stretches, and spent most of the afternoon searching for an edge that never fully arrived.
Loyola made 13 three-pointers and led by as many as eight in the first half, taking a 40-35 lead into the break. For a team built on pressure and disruption, Mason was a step slow, late on closeouts, inconsistent in help, and too willing to let the Greyhounds play comfortably.
Then came the familiar flash.
For about five minutes early in the second half, Mason finally looked like Mason. The Patriots rattled off an 11-0 run, turned defense into offense, and flipped the game. Once they went up 61-58 with 8:24 left, they didn’t give the lead back, closing it out with poise and free throws to secure a 51-39 second-half advantage.
The talent carried them home.
Kory Mincy poured in 26 points, stretching his school-record free-throw streak to 48 straight, while Jahari Long (18), Riley Allenspach (16), and Masai Troutman (15) provided balance. Mason shot 55.6 percent in the second half and did just enough defensively to survive.
This win moves the Patriots to 11-1 for just the third time in program history, but as they head into the break and toward conference play, the bigger conversation isn’t about record. It’s about identity.
How does George Mason play a full 40 minutes?
That’s the question facing Tony Skinn and his staff. The pieces are there. The depth is real. The ceiling is obvious. But the Patriots can’t keep relying on short bursts of defensive intensity to flip games. In the Atlantic 10, five to ten minutes of defense won’t be enough night after night.
Mason will return from the break to host Penn on Dec. 28, wrapping up non-conference play. They’ll do so with another win in the bank and with a clear reminder that the next step isn’t about talent.
It’s about sustaining the edge, the urgency, and the defense for all 40 minutes, not just when the game demands it.