City of Basketball Love

David Driver (@DaytonVaDriver)
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FAIRFAX, Va. – Taylor Funk lofted a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key, but the shot in the closing seconds was off the mark and went out of bounds to George Mason.

As the Saint Joseph’s star headed towards the defensive end, Funk pleaded for a foul call then realized his request wasn’t going to bring the result he wanted.

It was a frustrating end to a discouraging trip to Virginia, as the Hawks fell 77-71 to host George Mason in Atlantic 10 Conference play here on Monday night. 

“That is the growth I am talking about. There is always a second layer; we had time to go to the second layer,” coach Billy Lange said of the sequence. “There is another play to be made” on that offensive possession.

Josh Oduro, the 6-foot-9 post player for George Mason, had a monster game with 31 points and eight boards.

“We are learning how to do some things that we need to learn how to do to compete,” said Lange, standing outside of the locker room after the loss. “They are a good team; Oduro is a Player of the Year candidate. They are one of the top teams in the country in terms of points generated from three.”

“It is hard to guard both things,” Lange added of the inside presence of Oduro and the long-range threat of the Patriots. “They are a good team; I am proud of our team. I like our trajectory.”

The Monday loss left the Hawks at 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the conference and came two days after a 70-54 setback at VCU in Richmond.

And the loss at Mason saw the Hawks attempt just four free throws – all by Ejike Obinna – while making 17 turnovers as the Patriots had just four miscues.

George Mason was six of eight from the foul line and just 5 of 22 from long range.

“The disparity inside (on free throws) shouldn’t be that way,” Lange said. “We drive the ball so much … we end up with four free throws. I have to watch the film. I am curious how that continues to happen. We are driving the ball to the basket. To come out of the game and just one player shoots a free throw? That has nothing to do with how we won or lost.”

Freshman guard Erik Reynolds II had 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, Funk had 17 points and Jordan Hall had a huge game with 15 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

Reynolds said he had about 18 or 19 family and friends in the stands Monday.

“We have to lock in on the small things that can affect us,” Reynolds said. “Offensive rebounds, not letting their shooters get (three-pointers) off, being able to get people off the dribble when they go to the basket. Just little things like that will really help us out.”

“They want to win so bad,” Lange said of his team. “This was a tough trip so far; we played two really good teams on the road. I am proud of our guys but we have work to do. They had two offensive rebounds in the last five minutes of the game that you have to come up with it.”

Funk hit a 3-pointer with just under two minutes left to pull the Hawks to within 70-69.

“He has come such a long way,” Lange said of Funk. “He is such a gun-slinger, learning how to win every night. We had a chance to win the game.”

But D’Shawn Schwartz connected on a field goal to give the Patriots a lead of 73-69 before St. Joe’s called time with 1:01 left.

Reynolds scored for the first time in the second half with a layup that trimmed the margin to 73-71 with 54.1 seconds to go.

But Mason’s Davonte Gaines snuck inside for an offensive rebound and his basket made it 75-71 with 23.1 ticks remaining to seal the win.

“Erik had a good trip. I thought he handled VCU well,” Lange said of his freshman guard. “There are a lot of positives that come from this. The result can’t dictate how the process went.”

The Hawks have lost five of their last six outings.

The game was a homecoming of sorts for Reynolds II and junior guard Cameron Brown of the Hawks. Brown had nine points Monday.

Reynolds played at The Bullis School in Maryland and is from Temple Hills, Maryland – about 23 miles east of the George Mason campus.

Brown is from Laurel, Maryland and played at Eleanor Roosevelt High in Greenbelt, Maryland. That is also the alma mater of Brenden Straughn, an assistant coach for the Hawks.

Going into the game Monday, Reynolds was averaging 9.2 points per contest while Brown was scoring 7.5 points per game.

“Cam has been a rock solid, program leader for us,” Lange said of Brown. “He continues to provide value in so many ways. We think the world of Erik. He has been really aggressive offensively. We couldn’t be happier to have him. He is going to be a great one for us.”

Funk scored his first points - a 3-pointer - to give the Hawks a lead of 27-24 with 5:20 left in the first half.

Reynolds hit another 3-pointer, this one at the shot clock buzzer, as the visitors led 31-26 with 2:45 left in the first stanza.

Staying hot, Reynolds hit another trey to make it 34-31 then Funk made another 3-pointer for a 37-31 bulge with 28 seconds left in the first half.

The Hawks’ lead was trimmed to 37-33 at the break.

The Patriots have won nine of the last 10 games against the Hawks, including the last four here in Virginia.

The Hawks host Duquesne on Wednesday then play Saturday at preseason conference favorite St. Bonaventure.

“We need to go through these shared experiences together,” Lange said.

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David Driver has covered college basketball in the Washington area for 25 years. He can be reached at daytondavid.com and @DaytonVaDriver.

His book “Hoop Dreams In Europe” is slated to be published in March 2022