Patriots Drop Paradise Jam Finale to Buffalo, 84-72

By Press release submission

Nov 29, 2022

The George Mason University men's basketball team struggled on the defensive end of the floor during an 84-72 setback to the University at Buffalo Monday afternoon in the Patriots' final game of the Paradise Jam.

Mason trailed for the majority of the game but was within three multiple times with under 10 minutes to play. But whenever the Patriots had a chance to move closer, the team had difficulty getting a defensive stop and Buffalo was able to capitalize.

The Bulls shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the floor and turned 16 Patriot turnovers into a +6 edge (16-10) in points off turnovers for the game.

"This was a disappointing ending to a disappointing trip," head coach Kim English said. "We have to go back to the drawing board. Losing Ronald [Polite III] wasn't ideal - we thought he was coming along at that position. I'm proud of Devin [Dinkins] for what he did stepping up into the point guard role. I'm proud of the steps Ginika [Ojiako] took down here. But we didn't get it done as a group, and it starts with our defense. We'll keep building our habits and building our discipline on our journey to becoming a team that does take care of the ball, gets great shots, contests every shot and limits opponents to one shot."

Freshman Devin Dinkins played the best game of his young Patriot career, tallying 15 points (5-9 FG) to go along with two assists in 28 minutes.

Senior Josh Oduro led the Green & Gold in scoring (17 points) and made 5-of-9 field goal attempts. His partner in the post, graduate Ginika Ojiako, added a season-best 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes.

Victor Bailey Jr. and DeVon Cooper each added 10 points for the Green & Gold. Cooper also dished out a career-best seven assists in 35 minutes on the floor.

Buffalo held an early 11-6 lead before Mason tied it up at 16-16 on an Ojiako 3-point play at the 12:37 mark of the first half. The Bulls pushed the lead to seven (29-22) with 7:06 to go in the period, but Mason rallied with six straight to move back within one (29-28). The Bulls closed the half with a mini 5-0 spurt to take a 38-32 lead into the break.

Mason cut it to one at 40-39, but Buffalo used a 6-0 run to go back up seven at 46-39. The Bulls extended the edge to nine (52-43) with 12:23 to play, but the Patriots responded with six of their own to move back within three (52-49).

The Buffalo lead hovered between three and six for the next four minutes, before the Bulls used a 9-0 run to go up 14 (76-62) with 3:20 remaining.

The Patriots return to Fairfax for the start of a four-game homestand. First up is a battle with new Division I foe Queens on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. Mason defeated the Royals in the 2020 edition of the Paradise Jam in Washington, D.C.