FAIRFAX, Va. –– After making a three-point field goal with 50 seconds left to tie the game, George Mason made four triples in overtime to defeat the Navy men's basketball team, 68-55, Tuesday night at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va., in the season opener for both teams.
 
"Great effort by our squad," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "I like the way we were resilient and had a chance to win the game.  We just didn't make the play we needed to make to win it."
 
The Mids went into halftime holding a 22-20 lead, but the Patriots began the second half on a 17-2 run to open up a 37-24 advantage with over 14 minutes left on the clock.  It was still an 11-point game with 10:50 remaining and a nine-point difference with nine minutes left.  That was when the Mids found a rhythm.
 
George Mason started the half with a three-quarter court trapping defense to speed up Navy, and the efforts by the Patriots worked as they built their lead.  The Mids were then able to both beat the defense and slow the game back down starting in the middle part of the stanza.  Trailing 41-32, the Mids scored the next 12 points to regain the lead at 44-41 on a three-point basket by Luke Loehr (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) with 6:29 showing on the clock.
 
"Both teams didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half," said DeChellis.  "We tried to emphasize (at halftime) being better, but give them (George Mason) credit in that they were better than us in the first four minutes of the second half.  But then I found out a little about my team; we are pretty resilient and came fighting right back and had the lead."
 
George Mason briefly regained the lead at 45-44, but the Mids held a one-possession lead through a short jumper by Evan Wieck (Sr., Amarillo, Texas) that made the score 52-49 with 1:11 left to play.  Jamal Hartwell II would drain a three-point shot on the next George Mason trip down the floor to tie the game with 50 seconds remaining, after which the Patriots called timeout.
 
Navy took its time with the ball and soon Cam Davis (Jr., Battlefield, Mo.) was able to drive down the free throw lane.  His slightly off balance attempt barely missed its mark, and the Patriots rebounded the ball with 27 seconds still to play.  George Mason advanced the ball to in front of its bench and called timeout with 18 seconds remaining.
 
When play resumed, the Patriots slowly worked the ball around the three-point line to run the clock down more so than looking for a quick shot.  Eventually Hartwell would try a contested three-point shot with scant time remaining.  His effort was no good, which sent the game into overtime.
 
"We had a shot at the rim with under a minute left," said DeChellis.  "Cam had it, and it rolled out."
 
This would be just the third time Navy's season-opening game would be extended into overtime (1988-89, 1999-00).
 
The Patriots won the tap to start the extra frame.  George Mason would have a lengthy first possession as there was a missed shot, a Navy foul, two more missed shots and then a three-point field goal made by Hartwell 50 seconds into the period.  Navy came away empty on its first trip down the floor as the Mids missed two shots before being called for traveling.  The Patriots answered with another triple, this time by Javon Greene. 
 
Greg Summers (So, Ocoee, Fla.) sliced the margin down to 58-54 with a jumper in the lane, but Xavier Johnson responded for the Patriots with another three-point shot to push the score out to 61-54 midway through the period.  Navy was held without a made field goal the remainder of the game.
 
"We didn't do a good job of guarding the ball in overtime, and we didn't rebound," said DeChellis.  "The one play where they took the lead, they had four cracks at it.  For me, we didn't make the play we needed to make when we're at the end of regulation or when we were in overtime, and (we) didn't rebound.  Give credit to them; they made shots."
 
The Patriots were 4-7 from three-point range in the overtime period.  Those four made treys during the five-minutes of bonus basketball equaled the production for George Mason from beyind the arc during the first 40 minutes of the game.  In contrast, Navy was 1-6 from the field in all during the overtime stanza.
 
The Mids held a 44-36 advantage on the glass, which included a 20-16 edge in offensive rebounds.  However, both teams registered 11 second chance points.
 
Wieck and Davis each scored 14 points for the Mids, with Summers scoring a career-high 13 points.   Summers also grabbed a career-best eight rebounds, with Wieck and Loehr each totaling seven boards.
 
Navy will open its home slate Friday when the Mids play the second game of the Veterans Classic doubleheader.  Auburn vs. Davidson will begin the games at 6 p.m., with Navy taking on East Carolina at 8:30 p.m.