Kory Mincy scored 26 points, Jahari Lang added 18, and the George Mason University The men’s basketball team escaped Loyola-Maryland with an 86-79 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The GMU men were back at EagleBank Arena, hosting the Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds. With the goal of going 11-1 this year, this was an easy task on paper against the 337th-ranked KenPom team. But games are not played on paper.
Loyola came out ready to play and led by as many as eight in the opening stages before taking a 40-35 lead into the break. The Patriots gave far too many open looks on defense and struggled to shoot, making just 12 of 29 field goal attempts in the first half.
Mason used an 11-0 run early in the second half to regain the lead, but Loyola wouldn’t go away, hitting back-to-back threes to take a 52-48 lead at the Under 12 timeout. The Patriots offense finally got going late and took its largest lead of the afternoon at 71-64 with four minutes left.
It still wouldn’t be easy, especially after Loyola’s Jacob Theodosiou nailed a pair of triples in the final minute to bring the Greyhounds back within two minutes. But Mincy executed at the foul line, going 7-for-8 in the final 41 seconds. His lone miss, his first failure since Mason’s season opener against Wofford, resulted in a Malik Presley offensive rebound that sealed the victory in every sense.
Still, it’s hard to be overly proud of a seven-point win in a game where the Patriots were favored by 22. Head Coach Tony Skin felt the same after the game.
“We’re not where we need to be defensively,” he said, which has repeatedly become a point of emphasis this season. “Giving up 79 points on our home floor is not who we are.”
Long, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, was a big difference maker late for the Patriots. “I knew I couldn’t let it affect me,” he said of his 0-for-3 start.
Skinn also gave a shoutout to Stas Sivkawho brought energy with two blocks in his 14 minutes from the bench. “We won’t win this match without him.”
Facts Hill missed the game due to an illness, Skinn said. Brayden O’Connorwho has been out since Mason’s season opener with a foot injury, was seen without his walking boot during warmups for the first time since being sidelined.
Then the Patriots will host Penn next Sunday as they complete their non-conference slate.
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