On New Year’s Eve, the LaSalle Explorers(4-10, 0-1) opened conference play at home against last season’s A-10 regular-season champion, the George Mason Patriots(13-1, 1-0).
Led by Kory Mincy, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the second, George Mason overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat LaSalle 80-75.
George Mason has now won four straight, while LaSalle has lost four straight and seven of their last eight.
Both teams did a great job of handling the ball. The Explorers had four turnovers, but George Mason did it a little better as they had no turnovers.
The Patriots trailed for most of the game, and LaSalle, which had its largest lead of 11 points in the first half, led 42-35 at the break.
After two Josiah Harris free throws, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, the Explorers led 67-59 with just over eight minutes left. However, over the next five minutes, George Mason would go on a 13-4 run to take their first lead since early in the first half at 72-71.
From there, the two teams would exchange free throws, and Mincy’s two free throws would give the Patriots the lead for good at 74-73 with just under two minutes to go.
With George Mason leading 76-73, LaSalle’s Jerome Brewer Jr., who scored a team-high 21 points off the bench, would miss a three with 50 seconds left, and on their next possession, the Patriots would get a big tip-in by Stas Sivka with 20 seconds left, and George Mason would hold on to get the win.
Jaeden Marshall added 16 for LaSalle, and Rob Dockery chipped in with 10. For George Mason, Riley Allenspach had 19, and Emmanuel Kanga scored 17 off the bench.
LaSalle led for 86% of this game, but George Mason executed a little better down the stretch. The put the pressure on the Explorers, and LaSalle could not hold them off.
The Explorers return to action on Saturday when they host George Washington, while George Mason returns home also on Saturday against Rhode Island.
