November 8, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; George Mason Patriots coach Tony Skinn signals to his players during the first half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Al McGuire Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Image Jahari Long contributed 21 points and nine assists to lead George Mason to an 86-57 comeback victory over No. 25 Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Conference finale Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia.
Corey Mincey scored 15 points, Nick Ellington had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Riley Allenspatch had 13 points for George Mason (23-8, 11-7 A-10).
Emmanuel Kanga also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Patriots.
Dion Brown led St. Louis (27-4, 15-3) with 13 points. The Billikens advance to the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament.
The Patriots closed the game on a 17-0 run in the second half. A Robbie Avila jumper cut George Mason’s lead to 49-39 before the Patriots started the game-defining run with an Allenspach fast-break layup.
It took more than five minutes for Saint Louis to get a bucket, and the Patriots’ lead swelled to 66-39 on Mincy’s jumper. Amari McCottry’s layup ended the extended rally, but Mincy’s jumper and Long’s trey put George Mason ahead 71-41 with 8:40 remaining.
The Billikens opened the game with a 5-0 lead on a steal by McCottry and a subsequent layup by Trey Green, which led to a three-point play. But George Mason fought back and tied the game at 10-10 with a jumper from Kanga.
George Mason took a 15-13 lead when Allenspach knocked down a 3 from the wing.
Avila picked up his third foul at 12:05 and spent the rest of the first half on the bench.
After a 9-0 run, the Patriots took a 29-23 lead with 7:57 to play when Ellington blocked a defender for a layup. George Mason took a 35-25 lead with a 6-0 spurt that started when Ellington hit a missed shot.
Long and Kellen Thames traded layups to close the first half and the Patriots took a 43-34 lead into the locker room.
–Field level media
