(Jordan Giles / Fourth Estate)
Loss marks third-straight for Mason
BY NATHAN FERRARO, MANAGING EDITOR AND BRIAN A. HAYUM, SPORTS EDITOR
Mason men’s basketball has lost three straight games for the first time in nearly two years, falling to the Dayton Flyers 82-67 on Feb. 18. Javon Bennett and Amaël L’Etang led the Flyers with a combined 43 points, shooting 7-12 from three.
The wire-to-wire loss leaves the Patriots tied with Saint Joseph’s and Dayton for third place in the conference.
Graduate guard Jahari Long was the first Patriot to score nearly six minutes into the first half, setting the stage for a rough night of catch-up for Mason. Dayton’s 7-point halftime lead proved to be enough, as the Patriots failed to get within 5 points in the second half.
Dayton Head Coach Anthony Grant’s team picked up where they left off in the first half, growing the lead to 12 in just four minutes and enjoying as much as a 19-point lead with a little over five minutes left in the game.
Long led Mason’s scoring effort with 17 points, while senior guard Fatt Hill notched 15 of his own. The loss is the Patriots’ third straight by double digits after starting the season with a record-breaking 21-3 stretch.
“I just thought, playing at home, we’d have enough fire, we’d have enough care, we’d show enough physicality and toughness, and we just didn’t show that,” Head Coach Tony Skinn said.
Junior center Riley Allenspach echoed Skinn’s message. “We gotta find some toughness that we haven’t had in the last few games. Once we find that, we’ll be fine.”
If the Patriots want to be considered fine going into postseason play, they will need junior guard Kory Mincy to overcome a thumb injury that has limited Mason’s leading scorer to 5.6 ppg on 11-41 FG.
Despite his star player’s struggles, Skinn commended Mincy’s efforts during the game.
“I’m proud of Kory, cause Kory’s fighting through it,” Skinn said. “He’s giving everything that he has, and, you know, he’s going to continue to do so.”
The slump may have Mason fans worried, but the third-year head coach is not ready to panic.
“I’m never gonna hit the panic button,” Skinn said. “We’ve got four games left. We’ve gotta find a way.”
The Patriots will have a chance to end the skid when they travel to Philadelphia tonight, Feb. 25, to play the Saint Joseph’s Hawks for the second time in five games. Fans can tune into the 7 p.m. tip-off on ESPN+.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The attribution of the accompanying photo was corrected. (Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1:18 P.M.)