New River Valley Times

Holiday Hoops! Patriots Host Coppin State Friday

The George Mason University men's basketball team wraps up non-conference play Friday afternoon with a home holiday contest vs. Coppin State.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Eagles is set for 4 p.m. Friday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland. In addition, Steve Kolbe will handle play-by-play duties on the GoMason Digital Network, with pregame coverage will begin at 3:45 p.m. (ET).

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are 6-0 at home this season and 16-4 inside EagleBank Arena under head coach Kim English.

• Mason's five-game winning streak came to an end in heartbreaking fashion Wednesday, as the Patriots fell 78-77 at Old Dominion. Mason led 77-74 with less than 10 seconds to go, but could not hold on for the victory.

• Graduate guard Victor Bailey Jr. led Mason with a team-best 23 points (8-12 FG, 5-8 3pt FG) against the Monarchs. He's averaging 21 points and shooting 62.5 percent from the floor over the Patriots' last two games. He also is shooting a blistering 56 percent from 3 (14-25) over the last four contests.

• Junior guard Ronald Polite III tallied his first career double-double at ODU. He notched 16 points (6-10 FG) and dished out a career-best 10 assists in 33 minutes on the floor.

• Senior Davonte Gaines also played well in Norfolk while registering a season-best 16 points. He tied his career high with four 3pt FG made and grabbed seven rebounds.  He is averaging 9.7 rebounds over the past three contests.

• After Wednesday's game, Mason will play five of its next seven contests inside EagleBank Arena.

• Graduate forward Ginika Ojiako also reached double figures Wednesday while matching his season best in scoring (13 pts). He made 6-of-8 field goal attempts and was a team-best +11 when on the floor.

• Mason has held its opponent to 30 percent or less from 3pt range in nine of 12 games this season. The Green & Gold rank 38th nationally in 3pt FG defense (.288).

• The Patriots dished out a season-best 21 assists Wednesday and are now averaging 20.5 assists over the past two contests. The Green & Gold rank third in the A-10 with 14.7/game this season.

• During the team's recent five-game win streak, the Patriots held opponents to 37.8 percent shooting overall (115-304). In Wednesday's loss at ODU, the Monarchs shot 52.8 percent (28-53), which marked a season high for a Patriot foe this season.

• ODU also held a 28-24 edge on the glass. George Mason is 7-2 when it outrebounds its opponent this season, but just 0-3 when it doesn't hold a positive margin on the boards.

• Mason has moved up to third in the A-10 and 66th nationally in 3pt FG percentage (.369). Over the past two games, the Patriots are averaging 10.5 3pt FG made/game and shooting 40.4 percent (21-52) from beyond the arc.

HISTORY vs. MEAC OPPONENTS
Mason is 26-21 (.553) all time against schools currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Patriots' most common foes are fellow DMV programs Coppin State (8-14) and Howard (7-4). In the most recent meeting with a MEAC school, the Patriots defeated UMES, 67-54, on Dec. 6 inside EagleBank Arena.

HISTORY vs. COPPIN STATE
Friday's matchup will mark the 23rd all time meeting between George Mason and Coppin State in men's basketball. It's the first matchup in more than two decades between the programs. The bulk of the previous meetings came when both programs were members of the Mason-Dixon Conference in the 1970s. The teams also played a pair of home-and-home series from 1999-02. In the most recent matchup between the schools, George Mason earned a 68-45 victory in Baltimore on Dec. 4, 2002.  George Mason and Coppin State have had games canceled in each of the past two seasons due to COVID-19 protocols. The two programs were scheduled to play on Dec. 23, 2021, as well as Dec. 16, 2020.

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES (5-9, 0-0 MEAC; NET #234, KenPom #280)
Coppin State was picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the 2022-23 MEAC preseason poll. The Eagles are 5-9 to begin the year, highlighted by home wins over Navy (75-68) and James Madison (107-100). The Coppin State offense is predicated on playing with pace and finding open shooters. The Eagles rank 22nd nationally in tempo (73.5 possessions/game) and are in the top-50 in both 3pt FG made (9.2) and attempted (26.0) per contest. Point guard Sam Sessoms ranks fourth nationally in scoring (24.0 ppg) and is 27th in assists per contest (5.6). Nendah Tarke adds 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds/contest while ranking 17th nationally in steals/game (2.5). 

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