Patriots Pull Away from UMES, Improve to 6-0 at Home

By Press release submission

Dec 13, 2022

The George Mason University men's basketball team (6-4) used a 19-2 run late in the second half to power past Maryland Eastern Shore, 67-54, Tuesday night inside EagleBank Arena.

The victory wrapped up a perfect 4-0 homestand for the Green & Gold and improved Mason to 6-0 in Fairfax this season.

"This was a hard-fought win for our guys," head coach Kim English said. "UMES is talented and athletic. We wanted to play harder than them and more physical than them because we respect them so much. I respect the way we responded in the second half. I thought our first group, plus Malik, was tremendous."

Mason struggled uncharacteristically from the 3pt line Tuesday (8-27, .296), but more than made up for it on the defensive end. The Patriots held the Hawks to 33 percent from the floor, including a 31 percent (9-29) mark in the second half.

George Mason also dominated the glass (43-28) and held a +7 (13-6) edge in second chance points.

Senior Josh Oduro led the Patriots with season highs in points (23) and rebounds (12). He also hit 10 of his 14 shots (.714) in 30 minutes of work.

Junior Ronald Polite III added 11 points (4-8 FG), five rebounds and a team-best four assists, while graduate guard Victor Bailey Jr. chipped in 10 points (3-6 3pt FG), three rebounds and three assists. With his sixth point of the game, he reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career.

Graduate guard DeVon Cooper tallied 10 points and two assists, while senior Davonte Gaines grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, dished out three assist and scored five points on the night.

The Patriots jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but the Hawks raced back to move within one (22-21) at the 7:19 mark of the opening stanza. Mason led by that margin (32-31) at the break.

The score was tied at 48 with 8:06 to go in the contest, but at that point, Mason rattled off that 19-2 spurt over nearly six minutes of play to build a 67-50 edge with 2:42 to go.

Mason held the Hawks to just 29.6 percent from the 3pt line, marking the eighth time in 10 games the Green & Gold has held its opponent to less than 30 percent from deep.

The Patriots will take a 10-day competitive hiatus before returning to action on Saturday, December 17 with a neutral site affair vs. Tulane. That game is part of the Legends of Basketball Showcase and will be played at Chicago's famed United Center. Tip-off between the Patriots and Green Wave is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (ET).