The George Mason University men's basketball team (18-8, 7-6) earned the first home win over a nationally-ranked foe in the history of the program Wednesday night when the Patriots powered past No. 16/16 Dayton (21-5, 11-3) by the score of 71-67 inside EagleBank Arena.
It's a win Mason Nation will remember for a long time.
Trailing 40-29 in the second half, the Patriots blitzed Dayton with a 24-2 run to go up 53-42, then held on late as the Flyers surged back with a furious rally.
It's Mason's highest-ranked regular season win in school history and the highest-ranked opponent to fall at the hands of the Patriots since the 2006 Elite Eight win over No. 2 Connecticut.
"This is a big time win for George Mason Basketball," head coach Tony Skinn ('06) said. "I'm proud of these guys. The word of the day is poise. Games like this you get so excited about. You know the energy and effort will be there. But you have to collectively maintain some sort of poise. That's what we did tonight. We protected home floor."
The Patriots held significant advantages in rebounding (33-27), points in the paint (30-22) as well as free throws made (24-10) for the game.
Freshman guard Baraka Okojie led the Green & Gold with a career-best 19 points (5-6 FG, 9-9 FT), all of which came in the second half. He also grabbed four rebounds in 29 minutes of work.
Sophomore guard Keyshawn Hall added 17 points (9-10 FT) and six rebounds, while senior guard Ronald Polite III tallied 13 points (5-8 FG), three rebounds and two assists.
Graduate forward Amari Kelly chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes.
Mason trailed 33-27 at the break, but in the deciding second half, the Green & Gold shot a remarkable 70.6 percent from the floor (12-17) and limited the Flyers to just 35.7 percent (10-28).
With Dayton ahead, 40-29, with 17:42 to go, the Patriots held the Flyers without a field goal over the next 8+ minutes, utilizing runs of 19-0 and 24-2 overall to build that 53-42 edge with 9:37 left.
Dayton stormed back, using an 11-0 spurt of its own to tie the score at 53-53 with 7:18 to go. The Flyers took the lead at 56-55, but that's the last time they would be ahead, as Mason got it back up to four (64-60) after a big 3-pointer from Polite III at the 3:12 mark.
With the Patriots up 67-62 with 2:06 left, Mason had a chance to extend the lead, but missed a pair of free throws, then committed a pair of costly turnovers. That allowed Dayton to cut it to 67-65 with 1:09 to go.
But the Patriots got a key stop on the ensuing possession, then went 4-of-4 from the line to seal the historic victory.
The Patriots hit the road for a two-game swing, beginning with a trip to the Windy City on Saturday (Feb. 24) to battle first-place Loyola Chicago. Tip-off between the Patriots and Ramblers is set for 4:30 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised nationally on USA Network.
