The George Mason University men's basketball team could not overcome a difficult start during a 71-56 setback to Boston College Friday night on day one of the Paradise Jam.
The Eagles shot 58.8 percent in the opening stanza and built a sizable 47-21 edge at the break.
Mason held a +11 (35-24) scoring advantage in the second half and held the Eagles to just 33.3 percent (8-24) in that period. But the deficit was simply too much to overcome.
"They got off to a great start. The biggest challenge was matching and exceeding their mindset and energy at the start of the game and we failed mightily," head coach Kim English said. "Coming off a loss as bad as they had the other night, we had to really come prepared. We thought we had a couple of good practices but obviously we didn't. They had us on our heels. In these types of environments, energy and enthusiasm are everything. They played with it and we didn't. It was a much better second half from our group, but don't say hello when it's time to say goodbye."
Graduate guard Victor Bailey Jr. led the Green & Gold with team highs in points (15) and rebounds (7) in 32 minutes on the floor. DeVon Cooper added 12 points (3-8 3pt FG) and two assists.
Freshman point guard Devin Dinkins played a season-best 20 minutes off the bench and registered five points, two assists and two rebounds.
Mason continued to struggle at the free throw line Friday while making 8-of-17 attempts (.471). The Patriots shot 38.5 percent for the game.
The Eagles led 11-2, but Mason cut the lead to five (13-8) at the 14:36 mark of the opening half. The Patriots were within four at 17-13, but at that point, BC used a 19-2 run over the next seven minutes to build a 21-point advantage at 36-15. The Eagles took a 47-21 lead into the break.
The Patriots moved within 18 (53-35) after a Saquan Singleton lay-in with 12:35 to go, but BC built the lead back up to 21 at 59-38. The Patriots cut it to 16 at 59-43 with 8:07 left, but could not move closer than 15 for the remainder of the game.
Mason is back in action Saturday when the Patriots battle Belmont at 5:45 p.m. (ET) on day two of the Paradise Jam.
Original source can be found here.
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