Santos Scores 17 As Minutemen Hold On Against Vs. George Mason, 69-67

AMHERST, Mass. – Freshman Preston Santos had a season-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and with the Minutemen leading by had a gave saving block in the final seconds to lead the UMass men's basketball (10-14, 4-7) past George Mason (13-10, 2-8) on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center, 69-67.

Santos added five rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead four Minutemen in double figures, joined by Tre Mitchell (16 points; 7-of-10 shooting), Sean East II (12 points) and Djery Baptiste (season-high 10 points). The UMass defense, meanwhile, generated 13 steals, led by four from Kolton Mitchell, and forced the Patriots into 21 turnovers on the night.

UMass led by as many as 14 with 5:21 to play before George Mason got hot from the field late, and used a 14-0 run to bring the game all the way back to even before the Minutemen hit their free throws down the stretch to setup the block from Santos with 12 seconds left.

Javon Greene led the Patriots with 19 points, while Josh Oduro, Jordan Miller and Jamal Hartwell II all had 10 points for the visitors.

The Patriots put UMass on its heels early, using a 5-of-13 shooting performance (3-of-6 from three) and 7-of-8 from the line to go up by 10 in the opening eight minutes of the game, with Greene and Hartwell III scoring five points apiece.

The Minutemen came to life out of the second media timeout, and used a 15-0 run on 6-of-8 shooting over three minutes to erase the deficit and take a 25-20 lead with 7:24 to go in the half thanks to seven points from Santos, highlighted by a steal from Samba Diallo to send UMass the other way culminating in a Santos slam at the other end.

The teams would go punch for punch down the stretch of the first half before East II flew down the floor and dropped it in as the buzzer sounded for two of his game-high 12 first half points to bring UMass even at the break.

UMass kept it up out of halftime, starting the second half 50% from the floor and using 13-4 run and getting six consecutive stops on defense to go up 50-41 seven minutes in, with six of those points coming from Djery Baptiste. Baptiste finished with a season-high 10 points.

While George Mason used free throws to try and chip away at the deficit, it was Santos who kept the Patriots at an arm's distance with back-to-back threes, the first conversions from deep for the Minutemen to that point, to maintain a 10-point lead with eight minutes to play.

But the Patriots wouldn't go quietly, and pieced together a 14-0 run over four minutes, with seven points coming from Miller, to level the game at 66 with 1:23 to play, but the Minutemen were able to hit free throws down the stretch to pull ahead in the final minute.

UMass shot 52% (29-of-56) overall and 2-of-14 from three, while George Mason went 21-of-44 from the floor and 20-of-27 from the line.

The Minutemen will continue its three-game homestand on Saturday when UMass hosts No. 6 Dayton. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 pm. on NBCSN.

Tickets for the 2019-20 UMass men's basketball season are now on sale for all remaining home games in the Mullins Center. Tickets can be purchased now online through the UMass Athletics Ticket Central page, by calling the ticket office at 866-UMASS-TIX, or by visiting the Mullins Center Box Office.

Scoreboard

Santos Scores 17 As Minutemen Hold On Against Vs. George Mason, 69-67

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Team Stats

Preston Santos

Tre Mitchell

Sean East II

Djery Baptiste

Players Mentioned

Djery Baptiste

Samba Diallo

Sean East II

Kolton Mitchell

Tre Mitchell

Preston Santos

Players Mentioned

Djery Baptiste

Samba Diallo

Sean East II

Kolton Mitchell

Tre Mitchell

Preston Santos

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics