Sherrod Wright scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half to lead George Mason to an 89-86 win over Virginia Military Institute on Tuesday night.
The Patriots (6-5) led by as many as 11 in the first half and took a 52-45 lead into halftime.
But the Keydets (4-6) scored 17 points off 10 second-half turnovers by George Mason to claw back into the game, eventually taking an 86-85 lead on a breakaway dunk by Stan Okoye with 1:11 remaining. The Patriots, who missed 12 of their 23 second-half free throw attempts, took the lead for good with a Luke Hancock putback on the next possession.
Cam Long provided the final margin on a fastbreak layup with 16 seconds remaining off a miss by the Keydets' Austin Kenon.
VMI's Ron Burks missed twice from 3-point range in the game's final seconds.
The Keydets were paced by Keith Gabriel with 24 points and Kenon with 22.
