FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason outscored James Madison men's basketball 50-31 in the second half to pull away for an 82-66 win over the Dukes on Saturday afternoon at EagleBank Arena.
JMU (5-4) led 35-32 at the break, but George Mason (8-0) shot 12-of-19 (.632) from the field in the second half to come away with the win.
George Mason's Kory Mincy led all scorers with 25 points, one of four Patriots with 15 or more points.
Bradley Douglas led JMU with 22 points - his third 20-point outing this season - while dishing out five assists.
Justin McBride scored 18 points – 16 in the second half – and knocked down three triples, while
Eddie Ricks III grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team.
Despite hitting just six threes, the Patriots held the advantage in rebounds (35-30), bench points (34-11), and points in the paint (32-26). Along with Mincy's 25 points, Riley Allenpach (17), Masai Troutman (16), and Fatt Hill (15) all had 15 or more points.
How It Happened
First Half: James Madison 35, George Mason 32
- JMU jumped out to a 17-11 lead at the first media stoppage, hitting three 3-pointers and shooting 7-of-14 from the field in the first nine minutes.
- The Dukes extended their lead to 21-14 with 8:41 remaining, but George Mason used a 10-2 run to go ahead 24-23 with 4:18 left.
- JMU trailed 31-30, but a jumper from Douglas and three-pointer from Paul Jones III gave the Dukes a 35-32 lead at the break.
Second Half: George Mason 82, James Madison 66
- George Mason started the half on a 7-0 run to take a 39-35 lead and hit 7-of-10 from the floor to hold a 48-45 advantage with 12:32 left.
- A free throw from Douglas cut the deficit to four (54-50), but the Patriots went on a 7-0 run to open the lead to 61-50.
- JMU cut the lead to eight (64-56) on a three from McBride, but got no closer the rest of the way as George Mason pulled away for the win.
Game Notes
- Justin McBride finished with 18 points and is now averaging 15.7 points per game this season, and 19.8 points over his last five games.
- Douglas finished with 22 points to tie a season high. Through nine games, the guard has three 20-point games after entering this season with just eight in his Division I career.
- Eddie Ricks III finished with seven rebounds. Through nine games, the forward leads the team in total rebounds (62) and rebounds per game (6.9)
Up Next
JMU returns home to the Atlantic Union Bank Center to host North Carolina Central on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+ with
Curt Dudley and Kirby Dean.