National Basketball Association
George Mason 63, Virginia 59
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 9, 2012
Where: Patriot Center, Fairfax, Virginia
Officials:
# Roger Ayers, # Bernard Clinton, # Tim Kelly
Attendance:
9840
By SportsDirect Inc.
George Mason 63, Virginia 59: Junior guard Bryon Allen scored seven of his 13 points in the final three minutes to rally the host Patriots to their first ever win over the Cavaliers in the season opener for both teams.
Allen's 3-pointer from the right side of the key with 1:02 remaining broke a 57-57 tie. After freshman guard Justin Anderson missed the front end of a one-and-one for Virginia, forward Johnny Williams increased the George Mason lead to four when he hit the second of two free throws with 10 seconds to go.
The Cavaliers cut the lead to two when guard Taylor Barnette drove the floor for a layup with four seconds left. Virginia then fouled Allen on the inbounds pass and he hit both free throws with 2.1 seconds left to seal the win.
George Mason won despite making just 8 of 19 free throws (42.1 percent) but Allen went 3-for-4. Junior guard Sherrod Wright led the Patriots with 15 points.
Junior guard Joe Harris led Virginia with 19 points, including 14 in the second half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Virginia started three freshmen: point guard Barnette, Anderson and center Mike Tobey ... Senior point guard Jontel Evans and sophomore guard Malcolm Brogdon both sat out the game for the Cavaliers with foot injuries. ... Starting forward Erik Copes, forward Vaughn Gray and freshman point guard Tevan Jones were all suspended for the game for George Mason.
Top Game Performances
| Virginia |
|
George Mason |
|
Joe Harris 19 |
Scoring |
Sherrod Wright 15 |
|
Justin Anderson 3 |
Assists |
Bryon Allen 5 |
|
Joe Harris 8 |
Rebounds |
Marko Gujanicic 7 |
|
Joe Harris 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Bryon Allen 3 |
|
Akil Mitchell 2 |
Steals |
Johnny Williams 3 |
|
Akil Mitchell 1 |
Blocks |
Johnny Williams 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Virginia
|
59 |
40.4 |
8-21 |
9-15 |
12 |
30 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
| George Mason
|
63 |
54.5 |
7-14 |
8-19 |
14 |
25 |
2 |
5 |
10 |