With three seconds remaining in the first half of Sunday’s Atlantic 10 matchup between Mason and George Washington at the Charles E. Smith Center, head coach Paul Hewitt called a timeout to set up a possible game tying play just minutes after blowing a six-point lead.

Marko Gujanicic inbounded the ball to Byron Allen who raced up the court and found a wide-open Patrick Holloway already cocked in-stance, ready to hit a long range jumper.

Instead, the ball went directly through the sophomore’s hands and out of bounds to end the first half.

Last week, Mason softball opened the 2014 campaign in South Carolina, taking on Ball State and USC Upstate in tournament play.

The team, coached by Joe Verbanic, faces an entirely new set of conference opponents, as the move to the Atlantic 10 starts new rivalries with the likes of George Washington, St. Joseph’s, and the University of Massachusetts.

Despite being selected to finish seventh in the conference preseason poll, Mason returns 19 of 22 from the 2013 roster.

On Friday, Mason men’s baseball will enter a new era in their history. Always a consistent contender for the Colonial Athletic Association regular season and conference titles, the Patriots face an entirely new set of competition in the Atlantic 10.

Selected to finish fifth in the 12-team conference, Mason will open up play at the University of South Carolina Upstate, the first of seven games in the Palmetto State before their first home game of the season against Hartford on February 28^th.