George Mason’s undefeated home streak continued right before ending 2022 with an impressive win over Richmond 62-58. It was an unorthodox win for the Patriots who struggled on three-point shooting but scored 38 points in the paint. Junior Ronald Polite had a career-high 22 points and continues to grow as a player this season. It was great to see Mason use their athleticism to get to the basket with ease and not solely rely on long range shooting to build a lead. They also had the advantage in fast break points with a differential of 16-0, another thing we haven’t seen much of this year because they don’t force a lot of turnovers.

Coming in I would not have thought Mason could win a game like this only making three three-pointers. They also lost Ticket Gaines to a hand injury, hopefully nothing serious, and were still able to get enough support from bench to get the victory here. Often we see them forgo driving to the basket in favor of kicking out for a three-pointer, which is where the game is today, but they still have the talent to score in other ways. I would have thought we’d see Justyn Fernandez in a game like this but it still seems as though his defense is holding him back from getting more minutes. Saquan Singleton will continue to get those minutes as he’s one of the team’s best defenders but have to be confident Fernandez isn’t far behind.

Mason might have gotten a bit lucky that their opponent shot as poorly as they did from the free-throw line. Both teams left a ton of points off there and it’s something Mason just has to be better on, especially in a game like this when they are driving to the basket more. What really made the difference was the Patriots’ defense in the second half, holding the Spiders to 35.5% shooting from the field during that time. We’ve seen this a couple times already this season at Eagle Bank Arena and if they can keep this up this season they will be a tough out at home for any A-10 team.