Lawal leads Georgia Tech past George Mason
San Juan, PR (Sports Network) - Gani Lawal finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Derrick Favors went for 18 points and seven boards, as 21st- ranked Georgia Tech got by George Mason, 70-62, in the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Iman Shumpert netted 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range for Georgia Tech (2-1), which suffered a 63-59 setback to 18th-ranked Dayton in the tournament's opening round on Thursday. D'Andre Bell and Mfon Udofia each ended with eight points.
Kevin Foster went for a team-high 15 points and nine boards off the bench, while Andre Cornelius added 11 points for George Mason (2-2), which lost by a 69-68 score to Villanova on Thursday.
George Mason led 17-9 just past the midway point of the first half, Udofia sank a layup to spark a 15-0 run. Udofia closed it with a three-point play for a 24-17 edge with 3 1/2 minutes left, and Georgia Tech went into halftime with a 27-19 lead.
The Yellow Jackets then turned up the defense on the Patriots early in the second half, beginning the frame with 16-4 burst. Georgia Tech closed the run with a Shumpert three and a dunk from Favors to make it a 43-23 contest. Favors accounted for six points in the stretch, while Shumpert drained a pair of three-pointers.
George Mason took advantage of some poor Yellow Jackets foul shooting in the closing minutes and was able to get within 66-60 after Luke Hancock's layup with about half a minute to play, but Bell sank a pair of free throws to help ice the Georgia Tech victory.
Game Notes This was the first-ever meeting between Georgia Tech and George Mason on the hardwood...Hancock ended with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
11/20 15:46:57 ET
