Otis Livingston II made four straight free-throws in the last 7.7 seconds to seal the victory in Richmond and break the Spiders five game winning streak. George Mason has historically owned Richmond even dating back to the CAA days and now Dave Paulsen is 5-0 against them. The Patriots had a comfortable lead the whole game and had a balanced scoring attack. They got a big lift from freshman Javon Greene who had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Both teams were missing key guys, the Spiders had De’Monte Buckingham suspended (12.6 PPG) and Mason was without Jaire Grayer (foot sprain).

In Grayer’s absence they needed guys like Kier, Mar, Greene, and Boyd to step up and help fill the scoring void. Kier and Mar finished with 16 and 17 and it was great to see Mar find his mark on three-pointers again, he went 4-for-6 from there.

Mason was able to build an early lead by hitting the offensive glass and getting second chances points. They were also uncharacteristically forcing a ton of turnovers, Kier and Greene combined for 10 steals on the night. But they weren’t without their share of turnovers as the Spiders got 19 points off their 17 turns.

Despite Mason’s four game losing streak heading into this one, they are now still just two games out of a tie for third place in the Atlantic 10. They have a great chance to move up these next two games with a trip to Fordham and the homecoming game against GW. Consistency hasn’t quite been there thing this season but they need to find some this month as they still have a chance to finish strong before March. This game proved that they can win without solely relying on Otis and Grayer for offense. Kier and Mar are big keys to this and they have to continue to make help make Mason tougher to defend.

Post game presser: