BOX SCORE (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason shot 53.5 percent and hit 13 treys on its way to an 81-55 victory over Radford in non-conference men's basketball action Wednesday evening at the Patriot Center.
“I'm proud of our effort tonight,” said Radford head coach Brad Greenberg. “We're making progress and our younger guys are gaining valuable experience.”
Despite the setback,
Evan Faulkner (Sandy Hook, Ky./Elliott County) paced three Highlanders in double figures with a career-high 15 points. Sophomore
Gorkem Sonmez (Istanbul, Turkey/St. Mary's Ryken) and freshman
Lukas Winegarner (Sodertalje, Sweden/Igelstavikens gymnasium) added 13 and 10, respectively. Faulkner and Sonmez both hit three buckets from behind the arc.
Cam Long (20) and his backcourt mate Andre Cornelius (17) combined for 37 points and nine of the Patriots' 3-pointers. Ryan Pearson also contributed double figures for Mason with 13.
In addition to leading by as many as 22 in the opening half, George Mason (3-2) drilled 60.7 percent (17-28) of its attempts, including 7-of-13 from long range before heading into the break up, 43-23.
“Losing Blake (Smith) at the half to a shin injury hurt. We're waiting x-ray results,” Greenberg said.
The Patriots scored the first 10 points of the contest and raced out to a 15-2 advantage, forcing Radford (2-2) to burn a pair of 30-second timeouts in the first 4:23 of the contest.
“We dug ourselves an early hole by not getting back on defense and they were able to get and make a lot of 3s in transition. They hadn't been shooting well from the outside, but did tonight.”
Along with its strong performance on the offensive end of the floor, George Mason held the Highlanders to just 37.7 percent overall and 6-of-22 from deep.
Cornelius' final 3-pointer with just over seven minutes to play, gave the Patriots their largest lead of the contest, 70-41.
Luke Hancock, who entered as Mason's leading scorer, finished with 10 assists and eight rebounds in 23 minutes.
Radford will conclude its three-game trip with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Charlotte Saturday.