Patriots one win away from all-time school record

Despite falling short in the A-10 tournament, the Patriots continue to make history

BY BRIAN A. HAYUM, STAFF WRITER

After a 24-win regular season—a feat achieved only three times in school history—and a 15-3 record in conference play, the Patriots shared the regular season A-10 Conference title with state rivals, the VCU Rams. Despite being the second seed due to a head-to-head tiebreaker, the Patriots earned a double-bye to the quarterfinals, another first for the program in the conference. 

The list of firsts for the program was underscored by the individual conference awards: Head Coach Tony Skinn was named the A-10 Coach of the Year, and senior guard Jared Billups was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Senior forward Jalen Haynes and senior guard Darius Maddox rounded out the Mason representation with their respective places on the first and third all-conference teams. 

On March 14, Mason started their tournament with an 80-65 quarterfinal win against local rivals, George Washington. Haynes had a game-high 24 points, while Billups added 18 of his own along with a game-high five steals. The Patriots got off to a slow start and were down by four going into halftime after a buzzer-beating jumper by senior guard Woody Newton.

At the start of the second half, the Patriots went on a game-defining 14-0 run. “I can’t wait to go back and watch that tape because I can feel it in my bones,” said Skinn. “I just think of certain situations that injected our identity into the game… It was phenomenal to watch,” he continued. 

On Sunday, the Patriots defeated the St. Joseph’s Hawks, 74-64, to reach the program’s first-ever A-10 final and its first conference final since the 2009 CAA final. The Patriots started strong with a 14-0 run that held the Hawks scoreless until the 14:27 mark of the first half. The lead didn’t last long as Hawks sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown, who tallied a game-high 26 points, led a series of scoring runs that kept the game close for much of the second half.

On the defensive end, Newton had a staunch shot-blocking performance, tallying a game-high five blocks. “We have a saying in practice,” Newton said about his shot-blocking success. “It’s called ‘Woody Hands.’ I just wanted to make sure I had my ‘Woody Hands’ up to set up tough shots the whole night…I think this is the best basketball we have played all season.”  

On the other side of the bracket, a VCU win meant that the final would be a battle of the top two seeds for a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Patriots fell short in the title game, 68-63. Battling back from a nine-point second-half deficit, A-10 Player of the Year Max Shulga’s 12 second-half points proved  too much to overcome. 

The Patriots had a chance to send the game to overtime, but a three-point attempt as time expired by graduate forward Zach Anderson fell halfway in and popped out. “I thought it was good, just like the rest of us,” Maddox said about the potential game-tying shot.

 

Despite the loss, the Patriots’ impressive season earned the team an invitation to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), Marking their first appearance in the tournament since 2009.

On Wednesday, March 19, the Mason Patriots defeated the Samford Bulldogs in the first round of the NIT, 86-69, tying the record for most overall wins in a season in school history. It was also the program’s first NIT game at home since the Patriots’ win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the 2004 tournament.

In the first half, the Patriots dominated on both sides of the court and led by 21 at halftime. The defense was stout once again, forcing the Bulldogs to commit 12 turnovers that turned into 13 of the Patriots’ 45 first-half points and holding the twelfth-highest-scoring team in the country to 21 points at the half. 

The second half proved to be more competitive. A 9-0 scoring run by the Bulldogs cut the lead to as little as 13 points, but Mason’s offensive firepower proved too much. Anderson, Maddox, and senior guard K.D. Johnson combined for 56 of the team’s 86 points. The trio also made nine of the team’s 10 three-pointers. 

“To be in this position where we’re at 27 wins… We’re one win away from them being the best team in George Mason history,” said Skinn. “Team 59 is phenomenal. I’m just trying to get these guys to play for as long as possible,” 

The Patriots will now face the Bradley Braves in a second-round matchup that, with a victory, would secure their place as the most successful team in Mason history. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Eagle Bank Arena and streaming on ESPN +.