For the third time in four attempts, George Mason has defeated VCU in the Siegel Center!
BECAUSE NOTHING MAKES SENSE ANYMORE LET THE CHAOS REIGN!!!!
The story of this game can really be summed up in two facets: Josh Oduro and Bones Hyland. One good, one bad.
Josh was a complete MONSTER in this game. He dropped a career-high 27 points, and was simply a force that VCU had no answer for this game. It’s been a story all season-long that Josh has developed and become the answer that Mason has long looked for. And it finally came together tonight. He was demanding the ball, and looked under-control with the basketball.
When Mason was down a pair in the final minute of regulation, you can guess where the Patriots went for offense…
ODURO TIE GAME pic.twitter.com/yprwbRdySm
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
Josh wasn’t the only one who stepped up today. Mason had four scorers in double-figures: among them Jordan Miller with 15 points and 9 rebounds, Javon Greene with 14 points and Otis Frazier III who had a coming-out game with 10 points & 6 rebounds.
Mason started this game a bit slow in the first few minutes, but a 7-0 run gave the Patriots the lead, which they held onto for a good majority of the first half. Otis Fraizer III announced his presence early on as a force to be reckoned with…
HELLO OTIS FRAZIER pic.twitter.com/36bF476eks
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
The thing is, there was a point in this game that I truthfully thought it was over. VCU ran off 7 straight towards the end of the half, and it looked as though they were simply running away with the win.
Bones doing Bones things pic.twitter.com/qs2HnkgtxG
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
Mason trailed by 10 points at the half, and it really didn’t look good. They also started the second half rather sluggish, and had trouble climbing out of the hole they’d dug themselves.
That ball movement 🤤 pic.twitter.com/0cudg3G3o0
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
But the thing is, Mason never quit on this game. I saw a fight today that I haven’t seen all year from them. I also saw a side to VCU I haven’t seen all year, but we’ll get to that later. Still, Mason continued to chip away…
Josh Oduro 🔨🔨🔨 pic.twitter.com/LPCbqjGmWd
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
THREE. POINT. GAME. pic.twitter.com/MV6e28xmxS
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
Sitting there watching the game, I was waiting for VCU to find their answer. To find another gear that would inevitably bury George Mason. But they never found it. Instead, they were dealt a near-knockout blow. Not just for this game, but for the season.
Bones Hyland went down on what looked like an innocent looking play, where his ankle just seemed to give out. He went down immediately and you just knew it didn’t look good. Bones didn’t even attempted to walk off the floor, as he was instead carrier off the court.
The last thing you wanna see… pic.twitter.com/KXJ5I9iMgp
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
Even as a Mason fan, that’s a heartbreaking sight to see. I had Bones Hyland picked as my front-runner to win A-10 Player of the Year. Arguably no player is more important to their teams as this kid is to VCU. A player like Bones going down at this stage of the year always reminds me of Pops Mensah-Bonsu’s injury in 2006 for GW, where it really hurt the Colonials’ seeding. Now I can’t help but wonder that if Bones is to miss any time at all, if it’s enough to keep the Rams on the wrong side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.
At any rate, there was still a game to be played. Josh Oduro tied the game up in the final minute of regulation, and it was enough to force overtime, as Mason locked down VCU defensively.
In the extra session, VCU just didn’t have an answer. They looked like a fighter that had been knocked down, and just didn’t have enough to keep going. They hung in there a little bit, but it didn’t take much for a knockout blow to be delivered.
That came in the form of an Otis Frazier III layup…
THE SECOND COMING OF OTIS pic.twitter.com/ZQpmZFXCK5
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
…followed by this Jordan Miller dagger fadeaway.
JORDAN MILLER pic.twitter.com/StoVr57l74
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
VCU kept it interesting down the stretch, but Mason fouled up three intentionally, and that strategy proved to be prudent, as VCU never got a good look in the closing seconds.
GEORGE MASON COMPLETES THE UPSET LET THE CHAOS REIGN pic.twitter.com/p2jAhWP1B7
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) February 20, 2021
It’s been quite the 24 hour stretch for the A-10, with SLU getting hammered by Dayton last night, and VCU losing to an average-at-best Mason squad. The A-10 continues to A-10. It’s a mess, it’s undoubtedly bad for the Conference’s at-large hopes, but MAN IS IT A LOT OF FUN!
Looking ahead for Mason, the win today moves the Patriots up to 9th in the A-10 standings. The Patriots have two very winable games left to close out the regular season, with home games against George Washington on Wednesday and La Salle one week from today. March is right around the corner. No one has a clue what’s going to happen, least of all me. But I do know it’s gonna be fun. Buckle up!
