City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)

Penn lost its third straight game and fell to .500 (4-4) on the season as the team lost 63-44 on the road against George Mason on Saturday night.

At first…
The Quakers entered the locker room with a double-digit deficit for the second consecutive game, and scored just 16 points in the first 20 minutes against the Patriots. Penn was scoreless for nearly the first four minutes and George Mason started the game on a 12-2 run. The Quakers were down by as many as 15 in the first 20 minutes and trailed 29-16 at halftime.

Turning point…
As if the 13-point lead wasn’t enough for the home side at halftime, George Mason made sure of a victory in the first few minutes out of the locker room. George Mason went on a 13-3 run to start the second half and grow the advantage to 23 points.

Shining stars…
Jaire Grayer led all scorers with 20 points, and the George Mason guard went 8-for-13 from the field and hit a trio of treys.

Darien Nelson-Henry and Antonio Woods were the only Penn players in double-figures and they both had 10 points. Nelson-Henry added 11 rebounds, but both he and Woods needed at least 13 shots to get to their 10 points.

Noteworthy numbers…
Penn shot a lousy 32.1 percent from the field, making just 17 of 53 field goal attempts, including a 5-for-20 showing from beyond the 3-point arc. …The Quakers also got badly beaten on the boards as George Mason out-rebounded them 45-30. George Mason had five players grab at least five rebounds; Penn just had one in Nelson-Henry.

Up next…
Penn (4-4) vs. Temple (12/9, 7 p.m.)
George Mason (4-5) vs. Northern Iowa (12/8, 7 p.m.)