St. Louis University, down six with 41 seconds to play, pulled off a miraculous rally Tuesday against George Mason, sending it to overtime, but the Billikens couldn't score in the extra frame vs. the Patriots' league-best defense in a 76-74 loss.
Isaiah Swope tied it with a 3-pointer in the final second of regulation, but SLU (14-11, 7-5 Atlantic 10) didn't score a bucket in overtime until the final five seconds when the game was all but decided.
All five of SLU's starters logged heavy minutes, perhaps part of the reason the Billikens ran out of steam in overtime.
SLU has lost three of five.
George Mason, winners of 10 straight, scorched SLU from 3-point range in the second half, stopping every SLU rally.
Patriots guard Woody Newton buried a Chaifetz Arena record eight 3-pointers, beating Gibson Jimerson's old record of seven. Newton finished with 27 points in 26 minutes.
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He averaged 6.8 points per game coming in.
George Mason (20-5 11-1 A-10) built a 10-point second-half lead after making six of its first seven 3-pointers in the half.
The Patriots made 15 for the game (on 33 attempts), three more than SLU had allowed in a contest this season.
SLU's Robbie Avila broke out of his slump with 27 points, a point off his SLU career best, to go along with nine rebounds.
Avila, after a slow start to the game in which it was apparent SLU had emphasized getting the big man shots, scored more than he tallied in his last four games combined.
Swope scored 22 for SLU, 17 of them coming after halftime. Kalu Anya grabbed 15 boards to go along with his eight points.
Jimerson, still dealing with an ankle injury he suffered last game, tied the game at 59 with a 3-point play with 4:21 to play in regulation.
But SLU failed to score for over three minutes as George Mason looked sure to win in regulation.
Jimerson's status was in doubt after he missed a big part of Friday's game after injuring his ankle, started and played 45 minutes, scoring nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.
George Mason led by as many as nine in the early stages of the first half, but a concerted SLU effort to find Avila paid off, eventually.
Early on, Avila, who missed six of his first seven shots, settled in and hit his last four shots of the half.
Avila took more shots in the first half (11) than he had in four of his last five full games.
The Billikens travel to face Loyola Chicago on Friday night. The Ramblers won at Richmond in overtime on Tuesday.
SLU down 1 late in overtime
42.5 seconds, overtime: After Isaiah Swope's two free throws cut the deficit to 73-72, coach Josh Schertz called a SLU timeout. There's been one combined basket this period, a 3 by the Patriots.
Billikens force overtime with wild finish
Isaiah Swope hit a last-second 3-pointer to cap a SLU rally that tied it at 70. SLU finished regulation on an 8-2 run over 41 seconds and forced a key turnover.
K.D. Johnson, Patriots up five late
3:10, second half: George Mason's K.D. Johnson has a 3-pointer and a driving bucket on the last two Mason possessions to give the Patriots a 64-59 lead.
The Patriots are 8-of-13 from 3 this half.
Gibson Jimerson had tied it with a 3-point play, a rare basket as he struggles. He's 2-for-11.
Kobe Johnson, SLU cut deficit to two
7:46, second half: Kobe Johnson scored a transition bucket and drew the foul to cut the George Mason lead to 54-52 with a free throw upcoming.
Robbie Avila, who has 24 now, is nearing his SLU career high, which is 28.
George Mason has finally cooled off, missing its last four shots.
Robbie Avila keeping SLU in the game
9:44, second half: George Mason is shooting 86%(!) this half including 6-of-7 from 3.
SLU is lucky to only be down 54-47.
Woody Newton has 17 points in the second half alone for George Mason.
Robbie Avila has been hot this half and has 10 for the half and 21 for the game. That's more points than he's scored in any of SLU's last five.
Woody Newton continues torching SLU
12:15, second half: Josh Schertz calls time and is upset with SLU's Kalu Anya after yet another Woody Newton 3-pointer.
The Patriots lead 51-44. Newton has a career-high eight 3-pointers and 27 points. His eight 3-pointers is a Chaifetz Arena record.
George Mason's Woody Newton hot to start second
15:26, second half: George Mason has come out of halftime hot. The Patriots lead 43-35. Woody Newton has 11 points in the first 4:34 of the half and 21 for the game. He's made all three of his 3-point tries this half.
He has tied his career high with six made 3-pointers.
SLU has turned it over twice so far this half after cleaning up its turnover woes in the last half of the first half.
SLU trails by two at halftime after Isaiah Swope's desperation shot
Halftime: SLU trails 30-28 at halftime after Isaiah Swope hit an end-of-shot-clock 3-pointer in the final seconds.
SLU seemed discombobulated, and that didn't look like the shot the Billikens wanted, but it worked out.
A George Mason made 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer was disallowed.
SLU is shooting 41.4% (12-29) overall and 4-of-16 from 3. George Mason is 34.4% (11-32) and 6-of-19 from 3.
Robbie Avila leads SLU with 11 points.
Woody Newton has 10 to lead George Mason.
SLU has eight turnovers, but most of those came early. The Patriots have two and lead the points off turnovers battle 10-3.
Gibson Jimerson's first 3 gives SLU first lead
1:59, first half: Gibson Jimerson's first 3-pointer gave SLU its first lead, albeit a short-lived one. Jimerson also drew a foul on a drive just before the TV timeout. He is 1-for-6 from the field.
George Mason leads 24-23.
Kalu Anya, who just scored his first bucket, has nine rebounds, two blocks, a steal and two turnovers for SLU.
George Mason's Woody Newton has 10 points on 3-of-7 3-point shooting.
Robbie Avila coming alive
7:40, first half: Robbie Avila knocked down his first 3-pointer on his fifth try then blocked a shot that led to a Kobe Johnson bucket.
He later backed down a smaller defender for an inside score.
Avila has already taken more shots (10) than he had in three of his last four games. He has nine points and two rebounds.
SLU trails 19-16.
George Mason up nine as SLU's woes continue
11:29, first half: George Mason now leads 13-4 and is on an 8-0 run as Robbie Avila has continued missing shots. He's 1-for-7 and 0-for-4 from 3.
SLU is up to six turnovers now.
Gibson Jimerson has missed his first two shots, both 3-pointers.
Robbie Avila cold, SLU off to slow start
13:33, first half: It's been an ugly start for SLU
Robbie Avila has taken five of SLU's first eight shots and made just one. He's 0-for-3 from 3-point range, and all of them have been good looks.
George Mason is up 8-4 and is shooting just 3-of-11 itself.
SLU has five turnovers early, a continuing concern for the Billikens. Isaiah Swope has three of them and Kalu Anya the other two.
Gibson Jimerson is in the starting lineup
6:50 p.m.: SLU beat writer Tom Timmermann tells me Gibson Jimerson will start tonight for the Billikens.
Injured SLU guard Gibson Jimerson warming up
6:30 p.m.: Gibson Jimerson joined his teammates on the court about 45 minutes before tip. He shot free throws then 3-pointers on the opposite end of the court from the rest of the team before joining the Billikens on their end. It's tough to tell how mobile he is, but his shot seems unaffected.
Jimerson twisted his ankle in the second half of Friday's loss at St. Joseph's and did not return to that game. His status entering the game was uncertain.
SLU's all-time leading scorer, Jimerson has appeared in 146 consecutive games entering Tuesday. He leads the Billikens in scoring at 17.4 per game.
Previewing St. Louis U. vs. George Mason
St. Louis University (14-10, 7-4 A-10), losers of two of three, hosts first-place George Mason (19-5 10-1 A-10) on Tuesday night at Chaifetz Arena. The Patriots haven't lost since Jan. 4.
Before the game, check out Tom Timmermann's full game preview.
The game airs on FanDuel Sports Midwest and ESPN+. Here's the full rundown of how to watch and listen with livestream links.
What do the analytics say?
KenPom gives the slight edge to George Mason, with the Patriots having a 54% chance to prevail. That site forecasts a 65-64 Mason win.
The Patriots' defense ranks 13th in the nation by KenPom efficiency and second by effective field goal percentage.
In conference games, SLU is shooting 63.4% on 2-pointers while George Mason is permitting opponents to shot just 45.2% from 2-point range.
SLU's offense hasn't looked particularly sharp in recent games as several key players have struggled.
In his last four games, Robbie Avila is averaging 8.3 points and five turnovers while shooting 31%.
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