Jahari Long scored 21 points and handed out nine assists to spark George Mason to an 86-57 upset win over No. 25 Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Conference finale for both teams on Saturday in Fairfax, Va.
Kory Mincy contributed 15 points, Nick Ellington had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Riley Allenspach tallied 13 points for George Mason (23-8, 11-7 A-10).
Emmanuel Kanga also posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Patriots.
Dion Brown led Saint Louis (27-4, 15-3) with 13 points. The Billikens have a double bye into the quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament.
The Patriots put the game away in the second half with a 17-0 run. A Robbie Avila jumper cut the George Mason lead to 49-39 before the Patriots got their game-defining run started with Allenspach fast-break layup.
It took Saint Louis over five minutes to notch a bucket and the Patriots’ lead swelled to 66-39 on Mincy’s jumper. An Amari McCottry layup ended the extended rally, but Mincy’s jumper and Long’s trey pushed George Mason to a 71-41 lead with 8:40 remaining.
The Billikens opened up the game on a 5-0 lead on McCottry’s steal and ensuing Trey Green layup that led to a three-point play. But George Mason battled back and tied the game at 10-10 on Kanga’s jumper.
When Allenspach knocked down a three from the wing, George Mason took a 15-13 lead.
Avila picked up his third foul at the 12:05 mark and spent the rest of the first half on the bench.
With a 9-0 run, the Patriots opened up a 29-23 lead as Ellington sealed his defender for a layup at the 7:57 mark. George Mason took a 35-25 lead with a 6-0 spurt that Ellington started when he tipped-in a missed shot.
Long and Kellen Thames traded layups to close the first half and the Patriots took a 43-34 lead to the locker room.
