Depth Key in Mason Win
George Mason opens up its Atlantic 10 season with a five-point win at LaSalle
George Mason (13-1, 1-0) 80
LaSalle (4-10, 1-0) 75
George Mason found themselves down by 10 points with 11:25 left in the Patriots Atlantic 10 conference opener at LaSalle.
Up to that point, the Patriots hadn’t been able to stop LaSalle from scoring whether that was because of dribble penetration, guys making shots over contests, or a couple of Explorers who were better on offense than what the film showed.
But what has been a staple of this season’s George Mason team, every game is coached and played like a 40-minute game.
Last season that meant the defense would wear the opponent down. This season is the polar opposite. The offensive options for head coach Tony Skinn runs deep down the bench and the defense is responsible for getting enough stops to win.
That’s the formula for this roster to win.
Exhibit A: In the last 8:35 of the half, the Explorers shot 3-18 from the field.
Kory Mincy led the Patriots with 21 points. Eleven of the 21 came in the last 11:25. Riley Allenspach had 19. Emmanuel Kanga had a career-high 17 points in 18 minutes. Kanga also grabbed eight rebounds.
George Mason’s superpower this season is depth. The defense needs to do just enough for Skinn and his staff to have the right combination and once that happened, LaSalle buckled. The Explorers had almost every bounce fall their way but the Patriots keep coming in waves.
The panic was evident where George Mason, who had been down most of the day, took a 72-71 lead with 3:13 left.
Two Josiah Harris free throws gave the Explorers a brief one-point lead but by then, it was apparent that the Explorers offense had bogged down and free throws weren’t going to be enough.
Mincy’s two free throws gave the Patriots the lead for good with 1:51 left. Stas Sivka’s tip-in with 19 seconds left gave the Patriots a five-point lead.