By Palmer Johnson
After a long 10-day break, Mason beats Loyola (MD) to the tune of 62-54 and moves on to a record of 8-2.
Keyshawn Hall had a pretty good game. While he wasn’t overly efficient, scoring 17 on 6-14 from the field, someone had to score in a game where the team struggled from three. And of course, board man gets paid. The sophomore grabbed 13 rebounds.
3-for-3 start by the Big Guard.#PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/wjVeSxYNH7
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) December 16, 2023
Amari Kelly was ejected near the end of the first half, which forced Woody Newton to play center for pretty much the rest of the game. Newton had a decent game, but most importantly, he held it down on the defensive end when he played a role he is unfamiliar with. The game could have been lost if they took advantage of Woody inside.
WOODY TAKES TO THE SKY ✈️@Woody4x_ | #PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/l0slXvIhIN
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) December 16, 2023
Jared Billups scored 10 points, grabbed 5 offensive rebounds, hit a three with confidence, and earned his first KenPom MVP as a Patriot. He was covering their 5’8 Deon Perry for a bit and that dude was getting ZERO separation. This was probably his best game; the balls bounced his way and he did not let any opportunities pass.
Pick 6 🏈@jaredbillups1_ | #PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/hRoQwxIlai
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) December 17, 2023
A couple of times, the offense got Loyola’s bigs switched onto Baraka Okojie, where they had no chance of beating him to the rim. I enjoyed the play where Okojie used their big man as a screener for the other big man covering him. That’s a freshman using veteran-level basketball IQ. He didn’t score a lot this game, but was efficient, and ran the offense very well.
So crafty.@baraka_okojie | #PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/LTnauXrBTN
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) December 16, 2023
Ronald Polite posted up their 5’8 PG during this game, that was fun. It’s probably the first time since high school for Polite that he had such a size advantage on someone.
Mason’s defense was awesome, Loyola shot 34.3% from two and 26.1% from three. Deon Perry, their top scorer, scored 13 points while using up 17 possessions. Defense is a constant with this team.
While you’d like to win by more, winning any game after a long break is important.
Next up, an in-state opponent, D3 Bridgewater.
