Baraka Okojie scored 19 points Wednesday night to lead four players in double figures as host George Mason scored a 71-67 upset win over No. 16 Dayton in Fairfax, Va.
Okojie sealed the outcome by canning two foul shots with 14 seconds left. That was fitting since the Patriots (18-8, 7-6 Atlantic 10) won the game at the line, going 24 of 29 on the night and 19 of 22 in the second half.
Keyshawn Hall added 17 for George Mason, sinking 9 of 10 at the foul line, while Ronald Polite hit for 13 points. Amari Kelly chipped in 12 points, making all five shots, before fouling out. The Patriots made 12 of 17 shots (70.6 percent) from the field after halftime.
DaRon Holmes II starred in defeat for the Flyers (21-5, 11-3) with a game-high 26 points, going 8 of 15 from the field. But Dayton went cold in the second half, making just 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from the field.
The Flyers led 40-29 just over two minutes into the half when George Mason turned it around and took its own 11-point lead at 53-42. Dayton rallied with a 14-2 run to grab a one-point edge with 5:56 remaining before the Patriots made the decisive plays at the end.
Holmes set an immediate tone for his first half when he posted up, caught the ball near the left block, faded and swished a turnaround jumper right in a defender’s face. That started a 13-point half on just six shot attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The 3-point line turned out to be the one difference between teams that were evenly matched in most areas over the opening 20 minutes. Dayton splashed 6 of 11 from the arc (54.5 percent) with five different players connecting at least once, while George Mason clanged away at a 4-of-14 clip (28.6 percent).
The Flyers ripped off six straight points late in the first half to open up a 31-23 lead at the 4:09 mark and made it to the break with a 33-27 advantage when Holmes fed Isaac Jack for a dunk.
–Field Level Media
