Patriots Claim Victory Over Dayton, 67-59, Soaring to the Top of the A-10 Standings!

Image credit: Erik Schelkun, Elsestaar Images

DAYTON, Ohio – The George Mason University men’s basketball squad (13-5, 4-1) ascended to the top spot in the Atlantic 10 with an impressive 67-59 triumph at Dayton (11-6, 1-3) on Wednesday evening inside UD Arena.

 

The Patriots held a lead as large as 20 points (58-38) in the second half and maintained a 19-point advantage (65-46) with less than seven minutes to play. The Flyers made a late push with a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to six points (65-59) with under a minute left, but K.D. Johnson sank two free throws to seal the win for the Patriots.

 

Dayton has a record of 26-2 in its last 28 matchups at UD Arena, with both defeats coming at the hands of the Patriots. The Flyers were undefeated at home this season prior to Wednesday’s contest.

 

“This is the rationale behind our scheduling,” head coach Tony Skinn (’06) remarked. “We had the opportunity to visit Marquette in front of a lively crowd and to play at Duke. If that’s not one of the most challenging venues, I don’t know what is. We were ready for this. The players focused and understood the competitiveness required in this environment. A few successful shots early provided us the confidence to lead us to victory.”

 

The Patriots matched a season-best by making 11 three-pointers and converted 55 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc in the victory. GM also enjoyed a 32-23 advantage in rebounding and outscored their opponents 18-10 in bench points during the match.

 

Senior Darius Maddox delivered his finest performance of the season for GM, achieving a game-high 20 points on an efficient 8-11 shooting (4-5 from 3-point range). He contributed four assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes of play.

 

Senior Jalen Haynes contributed 12 points (5-8 FG) over 27 minutes, while junior Brayden O’Connor added eight points and four assists. Johnson chipped in nine points, along with two assists and two steals.

 

GM started strong with a 6-0 lead and produced a 7-0 run to create a 10-point advantage (17-7) at the 14:09 mark of the initial half. The Patriots extended their lead to 17 points (28-11) following another run, this one being 11-1. Dayton narrowed the gap to 12 (30-18), but the Patriots entered halftime with a 14-point lead (41-27).

 

A three-pointer from Zach Anderson restored GM’s lead to 17 points at 46-29, and a layup from K.D. Johnson expanded the margin to 20 points (58-38) with 11:01 remaining.

 

Looking ahead, George Mason will return home for a nationally-televised matchup on Saturday afternoon against rival George Washington. The game is set to tip-off at 12:30 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena and will be aired on USA Network.