Washington D.C. - For the third time this year, George Mason and George Washington squared off in the ‘Battle of the George’s.’ This time, the two rivals were playing for their seasons with the winner advancing to the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal and the loser going home.
George Mason won both regular season meetings by a combined six points, including a 53-50 win over the Revolutionaries in D.C. on February 5.
The Patriots would complete the season sweep and come up big when it matters most, advancing to Saturday’s semifinal.
GW came out scorching hot in the first half, knocking down 7-11 three’s in the first 20 minutes, led by Christian Jones and Gerald Drumgoole, who both went 2-2 from deep in the first.
The Revs carried a 42-38 lead into the halftime locker room; just a four point lead for a team that shot 62% from the field in the first half.
George Washington could not keep up its lights out shooting in the second half. In fact, basically the opposite happened.
George Mason came out of the locker room on a 12-0 run, taking the lead and never looking back.
The Patriots were led by big man Jalen Haynes, who scored 16 in the first half for GMU and finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
The Revs, meanwhile, shot just 17% from three in the second half and 23% from the field on 6-23 shooting. Chris Caputo’s squad was led by Rafael Castro, who finished with 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, Caputo and GW still put together the program’s first 20 win season since 2017 and showed dramatic signs of improvement in year three at the helm, finishing 7th in the league after finishing last in 2023-24.
George Mason, who finished 2nd in the regular season, advances to the semifinal of the Atlantic 10 Tournament where they’ll take on the winner of the nightcap quarterfinal between Dayton and Saint Joseph’s.
The Patriots semifinal game will tip-off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon at Capital One Arena.
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