Mason men's basketball outlasts Richmond 69-60 for first A-10 home victory

Bryon Allen had 18 points and seven defensive rebounds in the 69-60 win over Richmond on Wednesday night at the Patriot Center (photo by John Irwin).

Mason men’s basketball topped Richmond on Wednesday night at the Patriot Center, 69-60.

Sherrod Wright led the Patriots with 19 points, followed by Bryon Allen with 18 points and seven defensive rebounds. Patrick Holloway also ended the night in double-figures with 10, while Jalen Jenkins had nine rebounds.

The Patriots finished at the free throw line, after Richmond hit their final field goal of the game with 48 seconds to play. Despite the Patriots leading by a season-high 23 points with 19:40 to go in the second half, the Spiders went on an 18-4 run after the first media timeout to cut the deficit to seven and the score to 46-39. Richmond got within five with a little over five minutes to play with a basket by freshman guard ShawnDre’ Jones, which brought the score to 55-50. An Allen jumper at the 4:52 mark followed by five unanswered points from Holloway, restored the Patriots’ double-digit lead, and Mason was up by 12 with less than three minutes to go in the game.

Holloway's 3 puts #MasonMBB back up by 10.

— Fourth Estate Sports (@FourthEstSports) February 27, 2014

The Spiders would again get within a single-digit margin, but a pair of free throws by Wright would help give Mason the nine-point lead, and the 69-60 win. 

#MasonMBB wins first ever @atlantic10 game at @patriotcenter by a final of 69-60!

— Fourth Estate Sports (@FourthEstSports) February 27, 2014

The Patriots shot 56.3 percent from the field (27-for-48) and 80.0 percent from three (4-for-5) in the contest, outscoring the Spiders 46-20 in the paint and winning the rebound battle 35-33. Richmond went 10-for-30 from beyond the arc, with the Spiders’ leading scorer Kendall Anthony with 23 points after hitting 5-for-17 treys and 9-for-24 field goals in the game. 

Biggest concern in second half will be containing Anthony. Cold in 1st, but has 8 already in 2nd half. #MasonMBB

— Fourth Estate Sports (@FourthEstSports) February 27, 2014

The Spiders had their largest lead of the game, up by three, at the 15:59 mark in the first half. From there, an Allen three-point field goal sparked an 11-0 run to give the Patriots a 15-7 lead at the media timeout. Mason continued to pull away from there, and took a double-digit lead with seven minutes remaining before the break. The Spiders shot 24.1 percent from the field and hit only 2-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half. Mason also outscored Richmond 28-6 in the paint in the first half, and led by 21 points heading into the locker room at the half, 37-16.

At halftime #MasonMBB leads this one 37-16! That 16 is the least any team has scored in any half vs. Patriots this season #GoodPlay

— Fourth Estate Sports (@FourthEstSports) February 27, 2014

The loss drops Richmond to 18-10 overall and 8-5 in Atlantic 10 conference play. Mason (10-17, 3-10 A-10) will face George Washington right down the road in a Revolutionary Rivalry matchup on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C.