FAIRFAX, Va. (WDVM) — George Mason’s men’s basketball was put to the test on Saturday night, beating a hot Dayton team 50-49 at home.
The game came down to the last play. After Xavier Johnson missed his first free throw, the Flyers still had a shot to win. However, Mustapha Amzil’s three-point attempt was off the mark, giving the Patriots the win.
It’s their first conference win of the season, and it’s their first win since Dec. 21.
“We’re talking about protecting the home court,” senior D’Shawn Schwartz said. “We have this one and we have to keep pushing things forward.”
Schwartz led the team with a game-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds. However, the big performance of the night came from junior Josh Oduro, who scored a double-double (14 pts, 10 reb) on his return after missing Monday’s game against George Washington.
“Finally being able to come in and get a win against a really good Dayton team feels good,” Oduro said. “We look forward to racking up the wins and continuing to play well as a team.”
It was a tough shooting night for both teams. George Mason shot 36% and Dayton shot 31%. But it was the Patriots’ tough defense that led to this narrow victory.
“We missed layups, we missed free throws, but we had saves,” head coach Kim English said. “[If] you have a lead and you get saves, you can still win. In conference games, in league games, all over the country, you just want to find a way to have more points than the other team at the end of the night.
George Mason is back in action on Monday when they host St. Joseph’s. Tipping is at 7 p.m.
