WVU hoops takes win over George Mason in annual charity exhibition
In WVU men's basketball first on-court and in-game action of the season, the Mountaineers grabbed a 85-78 win over George Mason in the annual charity exhibition on Friday, where all proceeds from the game will go to support the WVU Medicine Children's Hospital.
Syracuse transfer center Jesse Edwards scored the two baskets of the season for West Virginia with a jumper from the mid range and a strong layup inside. Edwards would finish the contest with a team-high 21 points, along with seven rebounds and three blocks in his first true on-court action for WVU.
Returning guard Seth Wilson also nailed a three-point shot to put the Mountaineers up 7-0 with only minutes off the clock.
However, George Mason went to the line and sank seven free throws in the first five minutes to take a 10-9 lead until transfer point guard Kerr Kriisa sank two threes to get WVU back in it, one of which came with a foul as Kriisa converted a four-point play to make the contest 16-16.
The Patriots’ forward Keyshawn Hall scored nine points in the first half to put George Mason ahead 20-16 halfway through the period. Then, Iona transfer forward Quinn Slazinski hit two three-pointers and scored nine points in succession for the Mountaineers to put them back ahead 27-22.
George Mason then put together a strong 13-2 run on the back of forward Woody Newton’s six points along with guard Darius Maddox’s three and a layup to go ahead by six at 35-29 with under six minutes remaining in the half.
As the first half winded down, West Virginia and George Mason went back and forth but the Patriots held onto the lead after a dunk and two free throws before Edwards scored a layup with under four minutes to go, but WVU still trailed 39-33.
The Mountaineers chipped away with four straight points at the free throw line but they still trailed 43-37 with under a minute to go in the first half. George Mason ended the first half leading over West Virginia 44-39 with foul trouble for forward Akok Akok and Edwards with two apiece.
The Patriots opened up the second half with two-straight baskets on the interior, one of which came after forcing a turnover but then WVU sophomore forward Josiah Harris answered with a three-pointer.
West Virginia continued to fall behind, trailing 53-45, after Maddox scored five-straight points for George Mason where the Patriots forced a couple of turnovers until Slazinski hit his third jumper from beyond the arc on the game.
Just minutes later under 16 minutes to go in the exhibition, a scary injury saw Akok collapse on the floor and the game was paused for 13 minutes after he was stretchered off the court following swift medical attention at the WVU Coliseum. The teams were given a short five-minute warmup period and play resumed.
Once the game was back, Kriisa drained another three-pointer and two more back to back baskets for both squads made it a four-point WVU deficit with 13 minutes remaining. Edwards also added two rebounds and two layups to his tally to bring it within one, 57-56.
WVU freshman forward Ofri Naveh slammed home the game-tying dunk with 10 minutes remaining and Harris put the Mountaineers ahead for the first time since the first half with a three-pointer at 64-62, totaling 12 points on the night for him.
The Patriots’ Ronald Polite III made his own jumper from beyond the arc to break a 66-66 draw, giving George Mason the 69-66 advantage with 11 points on the night. With four minutes to go, a flagrant foul was issued against George Mason to give WVU a slight 72-71 advantage after the two free throws were good.
Edwards took over on the offensive side of the ball, hitting three free throws and two more layups on the interior, including him converting an and-one opportunity. Edwards helped extend the West Virginia lead as it took control and went ahead 80-71 with under two minutes to go.
George Mason attacked the interior late in the game and put the pressure on WVU but it was not enough to defeat the Mountaineers, as West Virginia got the 85-78 charity exhibition win.
West Virginia men’s basketball officially opens its regular season at home in just over a week, facing off against the Missouri State Bears on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
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