FAIRFAX, Va. — UMass just ran out of gas at the wrong time.
The Minutemen battled through foul trouble and a couple of scary moments to force George Mason into overtime Wednesday night at EagleBank Arena. Yet in the extra session, they looked fatigued and the Patriots were able to pull away for an 80-75 win over UMass.
The Patriots went on an early 7-0 run in the extra session to take a six-point lead and were able to hold off the advances from the Minutemen late. Keon Clergeot hit three free-throws with 33 seconds to cut the deficit to two, then Carl Pierre hit a 3-pointer from the left corner that hung on the back of the rim for two seconds before falling to cut the deficit down to one with 18 seconds remaining. That was the closest UMass was able to get, though, as George Mason secured the rebound off both free-throw misses in the final 15 seconds to seal the win.
It was the freshmen who stole the show for UMass (9-16, 2-10 Atlantic 10), providing the offense and defense the Minutemen needed to force overtime. Samba Diallo had eight of his career-high-tying 12 rebounds in the first half and then scored six straight points to help the Minutemen overcome an early second-half deficit. But in crunch time, it was point guard Tre Wood who took over the game.
The Maryland native scored all 13 of his points in the second half or overtime, most of which came after he came up limping after deflecting a pass away on defense. He also added eight assists and four steals for the Minutemen.
The Minutemen strung together a good first half on defense and were able to build a seven-point lead at the final media timeout of the half. But a flurry of mental miscues in the 95 seconds after the break left UMass trailing by a point.
Clergeot fouled Otis Livingston II on a fastbreak for a three-point play. After UMass turned it over down low, Djery Baptiste tried to substitute into the game and entered the court while play was still going, triggering a technical foul on the bench. The Patriots split the free throws and then scored again on the ensuing possession. Baptiste then committed an offensive foul under the basket and Justin Kier came down the other way and hit a jumper to put the Patriots up a point.
George Mason (15-10, 9-3 A-10) scored the first six points of the second half to stretch its run to 15-1 spanning the two halves. But the Minutemen responded after Matt McCall used a timeout to tie the game with 15 minutes left. From there, the two teams kept in close contact for the rest of the half and traded the lead 12 times over the course of the final 20 minutes of play.
Pierre paced the Minutemen with a career-best 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including 6-for-12 from 3-point range. Clergeot also reached double figures with 12 points before fouling out late in overtime.