National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Dayton 62, George Mason 55
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Where: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia
Officials: # Roger Ayers, # James Breeding, # Anthony Jordan
Attendance: 4703

Obi Toppin scored a team-high 19 points and added seven rebounds, and Jalen Crutcher poured in 13 points to extend No. 4 Dayton's winning streak to 17 games with a hard-fought 62-55 win over host George Mason in their Atlantic 10 Conference matchup on Tuesday night in Fairfax, Va.

The Flyers were the highest-ranked opponent to play in EagleBank Arena, and the Patriots (15-13, 4-11) made them battle for every point.

The Flyers (26-2, 15-0) shot 50 percent (25-for-50) from the field, but only 3-for-16 on 3-pointers and 9-for-18 from the free-throw line. They never led by more than eight points.

The Patriots also struggled shooting the ball, finishing 3-for-19 on 3-pointers and 8-for-13 on free throws. They shot only 38.6 percent (22-for-57) from the floor.

AJ Wilson led the Patriots with 18 points and five rebounds, and Jordan Miller chipped in 13 points and 10 boards.

George Mason built on a late surge in the first half by opening the second half with a 9-2 run to seize a 34-32 lead on Wilson's jumper at the 15:10 left in the game. With the score tied at 41-41, Toppin and Dwayne Cohill scored four points apiece in an 8-0 run for a 49-41 lead with 7:20 left.

Crutcher's layup padded Dayton's lead to 53-46 with 6:03 to play, and Toppin added a thundering dunk off a lob pass from Crutcher for a 55-48 lead less than two minutes later.

The Patriots made three free throws to slice the deficit to 55-51, but Toppin countered with a layup to stretch the lead to 57-51 with 3:08 left.

George Mason ended a three-minute field-goal drought when Miller scored on a layup to knock the margin down to 57-53 with 1:50 left. And 32 seconds later, Xavier Johnson's basket lowered the deficit to 57-55, but Ibi Watson answered with a layup to stretch the lead to 59-55 with 45 ticks left.

The Flyers made just 2 of 12 3-pointers in the first half but led 30-25 lead at intermission. The Patriots stayed in the game despite shooting 40 percent (10-for-25) and committing seven turnovers in the first half.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dayton   George Mason
Obi Toppin 19 Scoring AJ Wilson 18
Jalen Crutcher 3 Assists Xavier Johnson 3
Trey Landers 8 Rebounds Jordan Miller 10
Obi Toppin 7 Free Throws Made Jamal Hartwell II 3
Rodney Chatman 1 Steals Xavier Johnson 2
Trey Landers 1 Blocks Josh Oduro 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Dayton 62 50.0 3-16 9-18 9 32 1 4 10
George Mason 55 38.6 3-19 8-13 7 31 2 5 11