Ryan Samson/Sideline Photos

Box Score

George Mason GMU 11-9,4-3 Atlantic 10

La Salle LaS 7-13,2-8 Atlantic 10

George Mason GMU

11-9,4-3 Atlantic 10

Final

Feb. 05, 2022

La Salle LaS

7-13,2-8 Atlantic 10

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
George Mason GMU	36	42	78
La Salle LaS	43	40	83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | February 5, 2022

High Powered Offense Fuels Explorers to 83-78 Win over George Mason

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team broke a five-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, defeating George Mason 83-79 inside Tom Gola Arena on TruMark Financial Center.

La Salle moves to 7-13 on the season and 2-8 against the Atlantic 10. George Mason falls to 11-9, dropping to 4-3 in A-10 play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clifton Moore started the game off the same way he's started Atlantic 10 action – on fire. The Ambler native scored five of the first seven points for the Explorers, a start that saw each team trading punches.
With neither team leading by more than four throughout the early portions of the contest, La Salle took its first lead since 4-3 with a Josh Nickelberry three pointer to push the Explorers ahead 16-15.
Moments later, Nickelberry propelled a 14-3 run, knocking down three triples in as many possessions to give the Explorers their largest lead to that point, a 34-22 advantage with five minutes left in the opening frame.
The Patriots cut into their deficit, chipping away at the score as the Explorers went into the locker room with a halftime lead of 43-36.
Both teams came out on fire, trading baskets over the course of the opening minutes. After George Mason cut the deficit to one, Jack Clark responded with a deep triple to push the lead back to 56-52. Mason buried back-to-back threes of their own, taking their first lead in nearly 20 minutes.
With the deficit at five, Christian Ray responded with a huge corner three to trim the Mason advantage to two. Moore's fourth block of the game just moments later saw him rewarded on the other end to tie the game back up at 63.
La Salle finally regained the lead at the 8:21 mark after back-to-back Explorer baskets, Jhamir Brickus finding Moore for an easy bunny to push the Blue and Gold to a 70-69 lead. Clark knocked down yet another triple on the ensuing possession to force a Patriot timeout as the Explorers finished an 8-0 run.
With George Mason closing the gap to one, a pair of free throws from Moore and a corner three from Brickus increased the Explorer lead to 81-75.
Forcing another stop on the other end with contention at the basket, Brickus followed the rebound with a block on the put back attempt. An enraged Kim English was given two technical fouls and sent off with just over 10 seconds remaining. Knocking down 1-of-4 free throws, the Explorers pushed it to three possessions and were able to close out the game with an 83-79 win inside Tom Gola Arena.

GAME NOTES

Clark and Brickus combined for 36 points, each scoring a game-high 18 points. Nickelberry added 17 points, the three combining for 19-36 (52.8%).
Moore registered a block in his last 22 games after finishing the day with four blocks. Moore also finished with 15 points, his 10^th straight game in double figures.
The Explorers finished 28-53 (52.8%) from the field, 3-0 when eclipsing the 50% mark on the season. Finishing 14-29 (48.3%) from behind the arc, the Explorers finished just shy of their first time this season eclipsing 50% from deep, last achieving the feat going 9-17 at Richmond on January 23, 2021.
The win broke a four-game skid against the Patriots, moving to 3-2 all-time inside Tom Gola Arena against George Mason.
The 83 points is the sixth time La Salle eclipsed 80+ points, the fourth time within 40 minutes. The Explorers are now 3-3 in those games, 3-1 that don't go into overtime.

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