Ohio (1-5 overall) was dominated 92-69 Monday night by George Mason (6-0 overall) in its first matchup of the Sunshine Slam Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida. The undefeated Patriots looked to be a tough opponent and started well against the Bobcats on Monday night.
Slow starts have been common for Ohio this year, and resilience has been key to its success in keeping games close. George Mason did not want to keep it close, jumping out to an 18-6 lead just over 4 minutes into the first half behind four early three-pointers.
The Bobcats began to chip away, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line to cut the lead below 10. The other development was a defensive change, as Ohio began to change looks, flipping between man-to-man and zone, which resulted in a couple of turnovers for the Patriots.
Coming off a 28-point performance against Bethune-Cookman, senior guard Jackson Paveletzke got right back to work with five straight points of his own to cut the lead to 22-14. The scoring then went back and forth as Ohio looked to spread the ball around, including three free throws from redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons and a three-pointer from senior Ajay Sheldon. Ohio now only trailed 26-20.
The Patriots took advantage of the second media timeout and came out with some pace, getting down low for a couple of easy buckets to push the lead back to double digits. They also took a volume of three-pointers and made another pair from the right wing by senior guard Masai Troutman. He had 13 early points, and had George Mason back up 40-24 with five minutes to play in the half.
Ohio needed to respond in the final few minutes of the half and did so with a 5-0 run that included a three-pointer by sophomore Elijah Elliott, but the run was upended by an and-one by George Mason. The bucket was only possible because of an offensive rebound, one of seven allowed by the Bobcats in the first 20 minutes of action.
The Bobcats needed a quick spark and got one from returning redshirt senior Jalen Breath, who made a tough layup down low. Ohio turned the ball over on its next two possessions before forcing one of its own that resulted in a fast break layup for senior forward Aidan Hadaway, cutting the deficit to 46-33.
The Patriots got physical in the final two minutes, getting back-to-back and-ones down low, while Ohio was blanked and the lead continued to grow. The teams went into the locker room after completely different halves. George Mason shot 53% to Ohio’s 40% on field goals, but more importantly, it made eight threes to the Bobcats' four. The dominant period by the Patriots saw the Bobcats go into the half down 52-33.
The Bobcats came back to the floor playing sloppily. Hadaway picked up three fouls in the first 44 seconds of the second half, resulting in an early 4-0 run by the Patriots. Simmons responded with an and-one for Ohio, but it did not stop the George Mason offense that was red hot. The Patriots made both of their first two attempts from three-point range and were shooting with little fear, now up 62-36.
The foul bug continued to plague Ohio players and even head coach Jeff Boals, who was assessed a technical foul to push the George Mason run to 6-0 after a thunderous putback dunk by senior forward Dola Adebayo. Another three-pointer by junior guard Kory Mincy gave him six for the night, which was followed by a three from the Patriots, pushing their lead to 74-39, prompting a timeout by Boals.
George Mason came out of the timeout once again as the more intense team, forcing turnovers by the Bobcats and capping off the 18-0 run with two dunks in transition. Ohio was down and out of this one, but could hope to win the final 12 minutes of this contest. This started with cutting down the turnovers.
Hadaway returned to the floor with a pair of three-pointers to give him 16 on the night and hopefully a spark to the final buzzer for the Bobcats, who now trailed by 35. Simmons continued his physical play down low, which resulted in a flagrant II foul and ejection for the Patriots.
Ohio was down but it kept fighting. Sheldon hit a falling-away three-pointer on the right wing to cash in for some second-chance points, a part of the game the team lacked in the first half. Breath supplied some physical offense as well, making a pair of free throws and a jumper as the lead lingered at 31.
Boals went to a couple of his freshmen in the final couple of minutes. JJ Kelly and Jesse Burris both found a few points, but the lead still remained, and Ohio fell 92-69 in game one in Daytona.
