PITTSBURGH (AP) Sherrod Wright scored 23 points - his highest output in three weeks - as George Mason broke a nine-game losing skid with a 74-68 win over Duquesne Saturday.
The contest was close through 33 minutes, but after an Ovie Soko 3-pointer pulled Duquesne to 55-52 with 6:24 remaining, the Patriots launched an 8-1 run for some breathing room. Byron Allen hit a pair, Erik Copes dunked and Wright hit a jumper to push the lead to 10, 63-53, with 3:45 to go.
The Patriots (8-15, 1-8 Atlantic 10) shot 50 percent from the floor with Allen adding 17 points, and Jalen Jenkins 10 for their first A-10 win since joining this season.
The game was dubbed the Chuck Cooper Classic, named to honor the Duquesne grad who was the first African-American selected in the NBA draft (1950).
Soko led the Dukes (10-12, 2-7) with 21 points, Micah Mason adding 16.
