Takeaways From George Mason Basketball Opener

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FAIRFAX, Va — The George Mason basketball program dodged a bullet on Tuesday night in their season opener, edging visiting Navy 68-55 in overtime. It got hairy for a while, particularly when Navy held a three-point lead with less than a minute remaining, but sophomore Jamal Hartwell III stepped up and hit big shots for the Patriots down the stretch.

Hartwell II hit a clutch three-pointer with 50 seconds left in regulation to knot things up 52-52. He had a chance to hit a game-winner but the shot rimmed out, leading to an overtime period.

In OT, Hartwell II drew first blood with another three to put Mason up 55-52. The team fed off the shot, as did the hometown crowd, and they went in for the kill with tough defense and superb shooting. Navy managed just one field goal in the extra period while the Patriots got big shots left and right from junior Javon Greene and freshman Xavier Johnson. Mason outscored Navy 16-3 in overtime, giving them a 68-55 victory.

Johnson, Greene, and Hartwell II scored all of George Mason’s points in overtime.

George Mason junior AJ Wilson notched a double-double, posting game-highs in points (15), rebounds (11) and blocks (5). Johnson also had 15 points, doing so on 5-of-7 shooting. Hartwell II (12) and Greene rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Patriots.

For Navy, Evan Wieck and Cam Davis scored 14 points apiece.

Takeaways:

-Xavier Johnson is the new X-Factor

With Otis Livingston II gone and Justin Kier hurt, Mason lacks perimeter players who can create off the dribble. Johnson, a three-star recruit from D.C., appears to be someone who can do just that, and do it well. He’s shifty with a plus handle and playing good competition in high school made him ready for this stage. He was out there in crunch time and was the only reserve to play 30 minutes. Although he was brought in as a point guard, he looked good at the two alongside Hartwell II. I hope we keep seeing a heavy dose of XJ because he’s not only a good fit, but he’s fun to watch.

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George Mason took care of the bettors

The total was too high at 139. Before the game, I released the UNDER on Slackie Brown’s Twitter account and it turned out to be as solid as solid gets. Not sure how many people tailed it but I’m sure a lot of Mason fans gave the 10 points to Navy. Anyone who did was surely pulling their hair out or kicking themselves the entire game. Mason was overdue to make their fans some cash, though. They started last season 1-7 ATS and finished with a 1-4 ATS stretch. It was only right that they pulled away in overtime (yeah, the UNDER hit even with overtime) and completed a textbook backdoor cover.


-Marathon Patriots

Before the game, I spoke with a member of the George Mason basketball staff and he said the 2019-20 team is the best-conditioned team head coach Dave Paulsen has had. It turns out he was right. Navy looked worn down in overtime but the Patriots were just hitting their stride. They ran Navy off the court in the extra period and had enough juice to play pressure defense, crash the glass on both ends and hit jump shots and free throws.

-Shooters keep shooting

Anyone that watches George Mason knows Javon Greene likes to shoot. That didn’t change tonight, yet nothing was falling for him early on. Going into overtime, he was 1-for-6 from deep. Confidence is high with the junior, though, and he kept letting them fly in overtime…and they started the fall. He hit two huge threes in OT, including a dagger with 34 seconds remaining that sent all of Fairfax into a frenzy.

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Questions:

-Flat too often

The Patriots had a comeback win and that’s awesome. At the same time, they came out flat and nearly lost at home as double-digit chalk. Coming into the game, George Mason was 1-3 in season openers in the Dave Paulsen era, all against teams from inferior conferences (Colgate, Towson, Penn). They almost made it 1-4 tonight. Last year, there were several times when they came out flat in big games (ie: home vs. VCU). Good teams won’t let you back in when they’re in control. The team needs to start better from here on out.

-Who’s getting me a bucket?

I talked about it earlier: George Mason doesn’t have many guys on the perimeter who can get their own shot. Jamal Hartwell II stepped up tonight but he’s a long-range shooter; all his points tonight came via three-balls and he’s not going to be able to finish at the rim whenever he wants. In a game where they’re down two and need a good shot, who’s asking for the ball? Hartwell II is a leader and will want it, and Greene is always down to shoot, yet their skill-sets aren’t ideal for breaking down a defender, getting to a spot, and knocking down a 15-footer. Otis Livingston II was the guy; he’s gone. Xavier Johnson will be that guy eventually but that’s a lot to ask right now. It’s a question mark, no doubt. If the spot came up tomorrow, I’d probably get the ball to Jordan Miller at the elbow and let him work.

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