Rhode Island Starters
Freeman, Carey, Leggett, Martin, Tchikou

George Mason Starters
Cooper, Polite III, Gainey, Fernandez, Oduro

How It Happened
Rhode Island opened strong but wore down offensively while falling 75-67 at George Mason Saturday afternoon.

Rhode Island (8-16, 4-8 A-10) forced turnovers on the first three George Mason possessions and opened the game with an 8-3 run. Jalen Carey had six points and a block during the early spurt. Rhody steadily extended its lead, getting it to double digits with a pair of Brandon Weston free throws that pushed the lead to 24-14 with 9:19 to go in the half.

George Mason (14-12, 6-7 A-10) used a 12-2 run to the score with little over four minutes before halftime. Big man Josh Oduro took over late in the half. He had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half. His pro duction coupled with URI going 1-for-12 from the field in the final 10 minutes of the half led to a 36-33 George Mason lead at the break. Brayon Freeman kept Rhody close by scoring the team's final seven points of the period, four of which came from the line in the final minute.

The Patriot lead got to as many as 13 points as the Rams struggled to find its offense. The Rams made things interesting, behind strong defensive play from Carey and Weston. An 8-0 run for URI got the score down to 64-60 after a pair of Carey free throws. However, the Patriots responded with four unanswered points, and from there Rhody was unable to get closer than five points away.

Inside the Box Score 

• George Mason big man Josh Oduro had a dominant offensive performance, scoring 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the floor.
• Davonte Gaines and Ron Polite III each added 15 points for the Patriots, who shot 56.5 percent as a team.
• Redshirt junior Jalen Carey scored a season-high 21 points to lead Rhode Island. He added eight rebounds, two steals and a block.
• Redshirt sophomore Alex Tchikou had 10 points and three boards. He was 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
• Redshirt freshman Brandon Weston had eight points, three blocks and three steals.
• Sophomore Brayon Freeman had 11 points and two steals.
• Sophomore Ishmael Leggett had nine points and redshirt senior Malik Martin added seven.
• Rhode Island found its stroke at the line, shooting 25-for-27 as a team.
• The Rams had a 17-11 edge in points off turnovers, but George Mason had a 34-22 advantage in the paint.

What's Next
Rhode Island returns home to host VCU Wednesday, Feb. 15. Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN+.