George Mason’s streak of blowing a big early lead from the first half and winning the game on a buzzer beater continued last night. Ian Boyd again got the winning shot with time expiring in overtime against UMass to win 78-76:

Despite the once again squandered lead at the half, Mason got a great effort from Jaire Grayer (18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 threes) and Goanar Mar who had 18 points and some key free-throws late in the game. Grayer hasn’t looked himself lately so it was great to see him step big in this game. They didn’t have to completely rely on Otis Livingston II as much which was also a good sign. Justin Kier continues to be consistent and he’s doing it all for Mason at times. He’s really been the go-to guy when they need a basket to stop a run or get the go-ahead score.

The shooting percentages from the first half nearly flipped for both sides in the second half and UMass was able to capitalize on a lot of Mason errors despite missing of their best players. Mason inability to make stops late in games has been a problem all season long but they can’t even seem to make stops against the bad teams in the conference. They allow the comebacks by their opponents to be too easy and their aggression on the defensive end seems to always falter in the second half. The youth and depth of this team is a big part of that but you’d have to hope they are learning from these games and at some point it will stop.

The Atlantic 10 tournament is ten days away and this win was important for Mason’s seeding and avoiding the Wednesday session. I think we keep seeing just how good this team can be offensively when everything is clicking but it will be Dave Paulsen’s tough task of finding out ways to keep the foot on the gas pedal in these next couple of days. Finishing the season 9-9 in the conference seems like a pretty big accomplishment given what’s gone on this season and how this roster is made up. You have to credit Paulsen for keeping everything together and not letting this young group lay down. I think some guys are still learning what it takes to really win. Let’s hope they end this weird streak of losing leads in Richmond on Wednesday.