George Mason made 19 of 22 free throws in the second half to pull away from UMass, 73-63, Wednesday night in Fairfax, Virginia.
Javon Greene scored 21 of his game-high 32 points in the second half to help the Patriots (13-6, 2-4 Atlantic 10) overcome a nine-point second-half deficit. The Minutemen (7-12, 1-5) rode junior Carl Pierre and freshman Tre Mitchell for most of the game as the pair combined for more than half of UMass’ points and 12 of the team’s 21 baskets.
Pierre scored 23 points to lead the way, heating up over the final 20 minutes for 18 points while connecting on half of his 10 3-point attempts. Mitchell was saddled with foul trouble for parts of the second half, but still finished with 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting. No other UMass player scored more than six points in the loss.
“Someone else has to step up for us offensively,” coach Matt McCall told WEEI after the game. “Sometimes out there it feels like we’re playing a little 2-on-5, we’ve got to have that third and that fourth guy who are producing for us offensively.”
The Minutemen hunkered down on defense in the first half to hold the Patriots to 33 percent shooting and take a 29-26 lead into the intermission. Pierre took over the UMass offense after the break and scored the first 11 points, including a personal 8-0 run to give UMass that nine-point lead with 13 minutes, 37 seconds left in the game. However, George Mason scored 12 of the next 14 points to reclaim the lead and the advantage kept flipping until the seven-minute mark.
It was at that point that Mitchell picked up his fourth foul while battling for a loose ball in a 47-47 game. The Patriots took advantage of Mitchell’s absence by scoring the next eight points to take the lead for good. McCall said he thought it was a ticky-tack call on Mitchell, but also highlighted the discrepancy in fouls called against him and for him this season. The freshman shot just four free throws in the game, and UMass shot only 18, an issue McCall said he tried to gain clarity on postgame.
“You even saw me at the end of the game talking to the officials about what can I do better to help my guys right now and get more calls on our end down in the paint,” McCall said. “They shot 29 free throws, we shot 18 … the free-throw discrepancy, Tre’s got two hands in his back every single time down the floor and we’re trying to establish him down in the post. Even late when the game was in their hands, (Mitchell) shoots a jump hook and there’s contact down on that end that doesn’t go our way.”
Williams 62, Amherst 60 — Garrett Day scored a team-high 15 points for the Mammoths (11-6, 2-2). Grant Robinson scored 11 points and picked up seven rebounds.
Smith 71, MIT 60 — Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton) scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Pioneers (15-2, 1-1 NEWMAC). Ashlyn Bohn picked up 11 rebounds.