FAIRFAX, Va. – The Wofford men's basketball team fell to George Mason on Monday night, 46-70, at EagleBank Arena in front of 3,009 fans. In the season opener for both teams, the Patriots (1-0) never trailed in the contest.
The Terriers (0-1) were led in scoring by newcomer
Nils Machowski with 11 points on the night.
Luke Flynn and
Cayden Vasko added eight and seven points, respectively.
"We played hard," said head coach
Kevin Giltner. "I told them in the locker room that this score did not indicate the level of preparation that they had. We got a little stagnant first time on the road and saw some compounding mistakes but we want to see a better response to offense struggles next time around."
How It Happened
It took just over three minutes for either team to grab a bucket with the Patriots taking the first lead with a layup. It was not until after the first media timeout for the Terriers to notch their first points from a
Cannon Richards corner three. Richards grabbed two more points from the line to tie the game up with 13:25 on the clock, 5-5.
Nils Machowski would be the next Terrier to go on a run, grabbing a free throw and a layup. This seemed to spark a 7-0 run as
Kahmare Holmes and
Callum Richard would add their names to the score sheet before GMU could score next.
The momentum was short lived as Wofford would go on a dry spell of just under five minutes. Vasko would be the one to spark the offense with a layup, following it up with a score from behind the arc. Machowski would try his luck from deep, shortening George Mason's lead to four. Despite trading some more points in the final 1:30 minutes of the half, the Patriots headed to the locker with the lead, 22-29.
Vasko opened the second half with a mid-range jumper just 25 seconds in. After a 6-0 run from the Patriots,
Luke Flynn stunted the momentum with an acrobatic layup. Just one possession later, Flynn would convert all three from the line after being fouled on his follow-through from behind the arc.
Brian Sumpter and Machowski would grab fast break layups, completing Wofford's 9-4 run before the media timeout.
The threes came reigning down from both sides of the court out of the time out, GMU with the advantage. The Patriots would miss only one attempt, going on a 9-3 run over the next two minutes. A Wofford timeout threw off the hot streak with either team able to score until after the media timeout with 11:40 left in the game, 36-48.
It would take 2:40 minutes for either team to find a basket with
Chace Watley draining a free throw, but GMU would respond with their next possession with a layup. A sequence would follow that included a block from each team, followed by a steal from each team, ending in a jump ball.
Nils Machowski and Watley would combine for two threes, keeping George Mason's lead under 20 heading into the final media timeout. The Terriers struggled to find their footing in the last four minutes, hitting three free throws, while missing six attempts. The final whistle blew, with the score GMU 70, Wofford 46.
Inside the Numbers
- The first set of starters under Coach Giltner: Cayden Vasko, Luke Flynn, Kahmare Holmes, Nils Machowski and Callum Richard.
- Machowski led in rebounds with eight while Vasko dished out a team-leading five assists.
- Wofford did not lead at any point but held a tie game for 4:01 minutes.
- Three freshmen made their debuts while four more made their Terrier debut.
- The team shot .207 from three, the lowest since UNC Greensboro on February 17, 2024 (.200).
- The series head-to-head record now sits at 1-1, with Wofford having won the first meeting, in overtime, during the Charleston Classic in 2010.
Up Next
The Terriers are back in action on Saturday, November 8, in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Wofford will open their home account against the Milwaukee Panthers in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at 2 p.m. Listen along at wofford.leanplayer.com or watch on ESPN+.
