Riley Allenspach had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Kory Mincy added 13 with three triples, and the George Mason University men’s basketball team took down local rival George Washington 69-64 on Monday evening.
The George Mason Patriots returned home for their first action in six days, hosting George Washington in a battle of the Georges. The rivalry has become especially meaningful lately because Revolutionaries head coach Chris Caputo was an assistant on Jim Larranaga’s staff at Mason between 2005 and 2011, overlapping with GMU head coach Tony Skinn‘s time as a player on the 2006 Final Four team.
GW jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and then extended it to as much as nine, but Mason locked in defensively and began knocking down some shots to come storming back. The Patriots took their first advantage at 23-22 on a Fatt Hill reverse layup and went ahead by eight at the half, holding the visitors to only eight points in the final nine minutes of the period.
A Mincy three put Mason ahead 41-30 on the first possession after the break, but now it was the Revolutionaries’ turn to mount a charge. They went ahead 48-47 on a Tyrone Marshall Jr. deep ball, and it was a dogfight from there with neither team leading by more than five the rest of the way. Jahari Long, who hadn’t scored all game, hit a massive three just inside of two minutes left to put the Patriots ahead 63-62, and it proved to be the final lead change.
Riley Allenspach knocked down all four of his free throws in the closing seconds and Marshall threw the ball out of bounds on GW’s final possession, sealing the victory for the green and gold. The Patriots improve to 18-1 and a perfect 6-0 in Atlantic 10 conference play, doing so in front of a nationally televised audience.
“It’s great for our rivalry, it’s great for our league,” Skinn said of being prominently featured in what was a light college hoops slate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “We got an opportunity and we capitalized on it.”
Joining Allenspach and Mincy in double figures were Masai Troutman (14) and Hill (11). A good day for Mason got even better with a report that preseason First-Team All-Conference guard Brayden O’Connor is set to resume basketball activities next week.
Next, the Patriots will hit the road to Rhode Island on Saturday. Already receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, they’ll be in heavy consideration for a number next to their name if they can complete the sweep of the Rams, who they beat 61-50 at home on January 3.
