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Maryland drops first game of season to George Mason, 71-66
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Maryland’s offense crashed to begin the second half Wednesday night and it proved costly. Shots weren’t falling early and the Terps, despite a furious rally late, couldn’t recover.
George Mason escaped with a 71-66 win to hand No. 20 Maryland its first loss of the season (3-1).
The Patriots (4-0) didn’t shoot great themselves, but the 3-point line was the ultimate swing force.
Turnovers favored the Terps (10-12). Rebounds were close (36-30 in favor of George Mason). Paint points were nearly even (22-20). The Patriots were 12-for-24 from the 3-point line and Maryland was just 9-for-28. It shot 4-for-15 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Maryland led by as many as 9 in the first half and had an 18-12 lead midway through the first 20 minutes. But Patriot guard D’Shawn Schwartz kept George Mason in the conversation. A 10-0 run over the course of 3 minutes gave the Patriots a lead with 8 to play, and the two sides went back and forth until the halftime buzzer.
But the Terps got just 3 buckets over the first 7 minutes of the second half. Schwartz continued to find his spots on offense and the Patriots built up as large as a 10-point lead. With 13:04 to play, George Mason led 48-38.
Maryland fought back the rest of the way.
A 6-0 run got a 9-point deficit down to just a single score with 4 minutes to play. Guard Eric Ayala then spearheaded a 10-3 scoring run with a trio of triples to draw the Terps within 1 point as the clock ticked under a minute to go.
George Mason forward Josh Oduro dropped in his 12th point on a nice seal and post move with 27 seconds to play to put the Patriots back up 3. Ayala came down and missed a triple short and that was that. George Mason knocked down its free throws and escaped.
Schwartz led the way for the Patriots in the win with 24 points and 9 rebounds. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and 6-of-10 from the 3-point line. George Mason also put 3 others in double-figures scoring—16 from DeVon Cooper, 14 from Davonte Gaines, and 12 from Oduro.
Forward Donta Scott led the Terps in scoring with 18 points and 10 boards. He was 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Scott struggled in the second half, though, as he shot just 2-for-7 after a perfect first 20 minutes. Ayalan finished with 17 points (6-17 FG, 5-12 3P), 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Forward Julian Reese added 12 points.
Maryland is back in action on Friday, Nov. 19, when it hosts Hofstra at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.