Jahari Long played all 40 minutes and scored 27 points, but it wasn’t enough for the George Mason men’s basketball team to overcome a 15-point deficit against Liberty as they lost 77-71 in the opening round of the National Invitational Tournament.
About six weeks ago, everything was going so well in Fairfax. George Mason was 20-2. In the at-large conversation. Receiving votes in the Associated Press top-25 poll. Team 60 was special, but we all knew we had to enjoy the good vibes while they lasted. That was supposed to mean mentally preparing for the possibility that head coach Tony Skinn would receive a power conference offer this spring that he wouldn’t be able to turn down.
It wasn’t supposed to mean finishing the season 3-8 in the final 11 games, with losses in the first round of both the Atlantic 10 Tournament and the NIT.
After Tuesday night, that’s where we are. Slow starts were a theme all year, and Mason trailed by as much as 15, both late in the first half and immediately after the break, as nobody aside from Long could score the basketball. The Patriots then rekindled their early-season second-half magic to tie things up at 65, but for as good as they’ve been down the stretch in close games, Liberty has been even better. The Flames went on a 10-2 run after it was 67 apiece, and that was that.
“It’s a tough way to go out, it’s unfortunate,” Skinn said postgame. “I thought our guys fought hard in the second half. But you can’t go down by 14 or 15 against a team like them.”
Still, it’s hard to feel too down on Mason’s season simply because of the way it ended. This team was, after all, at one point 20-and-2. They beat arch-rival VCU at home for the first time in ten years. They recognized legendary former head coach Jim Larranaga with a banner ceremony during a non-conference win over Old Dominion. Then, in the midst of their limp to the finish line, they found a way to beat a top 25-ranked Saint Louis team by 29 points.
All of this came despite losing projected First-Team All-Conference guard Brayden O’Connor 15 minutes into the season opener. Through all of the adversity they faced, the Patriots fought until the final buzzer.
“We squeezed a lot out of this group,” Skinn remarked. “23 wins is no small feat.”
Attention now turns to the offseason, where ideally, Mason will be able to retain some players for a change. The team’s top three scorers — Kory Mincy, Riley Allenspach, and Long — all have eligibility remaining, and freshman forward Emmanuel Kanga made significant strides throughout his first season in the program. O’Connor can also return next year with a medical hardship waiver.
Of course, the most important piece to bring back will be Skinn. In his three seasons at the helm, the Final Four alumnus has compiled a record of 70-31, with at least 20 wins and a .500 record or better in Atlantic 10 conference play every year. The sour ending to this campaign should increase the likelihood he stays in Fairfax, and also that the Patriots will be thirsty to wash the bitter taste out of their mouths after an offseason of building further continuity.
But until then, that’s all she wrote. For all of its highs and lows, Fairfax will never forget the roller-coaster ride that was George Mason’s Team 60.