Pirates Fall At George Mason, 81-59

Saturday, November 25

Fairfax, Va.

2:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

4-3,0-0AAC

George Mason

5-1,0-0Atlantic 10

East Carolina

George Mason

November 25, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – Brandon Johnson and Quentin Diboundje each scored 13 points, but it was a struggle offensively for much of the day as East Carolina fell 81-59 to George Mason at EagleBank Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Ezra Ausar added 10 points for the Pirates (4-3) who shot a season-low 35 percent from the floor on the afternoon.

Darius Maddox led the Patriots (5-1) with a game-high 19 points.

Both teams would go back and forth on the game's first seven offensive possessions, but the Patriots would hold a 13-6 lead to force a quick ECU timeout at the 14:10 mark after the Pirates went scoreless for three minutes.

George Mason would stretch its lead to 26-17 but ECU would use a 9-0 spurt to knot the game at 26-26 with 4:31 remaining in the first half after a Diboundje three-pointer. The Patriots would respond with a 9-0 run of their own to go back in front 35-29 and ECU would find itself down at the half for only the three time all season at 39-31.

ECU would go cold after the 18:37 mark of the second half as the Patriots would push the lead to 20 coming out of the half with a 14-2 run, forcing another Pirate timeout. The Pirates would cut the gap to 58-45 with a quick 7-0 burst capped by an RJ Felton three, prompting a Patriot timeout with 11:22 remaining.

The Pirates would endure another offensive drought that would be too much for ECU to overcome as the team missed six of its next seven shots and could never get any closer in the loss.

Up Next
The Pirates return home to host in-state foe UNC Wilmington on Thursday, Nov. 30 inside Minges Coliseum at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.