RJ Felton scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds as East Carolina gutted and grinded out a 78-77 double overtime win over George Mason on Saturday afternoon inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Jordan Riley (15 points, 10 rebounds) and C.J. Walker (12 points, 12 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles for the Pirates (4-0), who are off to their best start to a season since 2020-21. Jayshayne Woodard added 11 points in his first start of the season and Cam Hayes continued his strong play at the point with 10 points, five assists and only one turnover.
Darius Maddox led George Mason (2-3) with 20 points.
ECU jumped out to an early 10-5 lead and the Pirates were able to keep the Patriots at bay for the remainder of the first half, holding George Mason to 39 percent shooting and forcing eight turnovers to take a 35-31 lead at the break.
George Mason would come out on the attack to start the second half with a 10-4 spurt to take a 43-39 lead with 14:10 remaining. ECU would struggle to hit shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, going 3-for-17, but would stay within striking distance due to scrappy play on the defensive side of the ball.
The Pirates would pull within a point at the 5:52 mark after two gritty free throws from Hayes and would retake the lead on a Woodard triple with under four minutes to go. The final two minutes of regulation would feature four lead changes and two ties as a Maddox triple put George Mason ahead 59-57 with 58 seconds on the clock.
Riley would knot the game at 59-59 on a turnaround jumper and the Patriots would go back in front with a driving layup. Felton would not let the game end for the Pirates as the senior guard floated his layup off the glass over multiple Patriots defenders at 10 seconds to send the game into overtime.
Both teams could not muster more than a two-point lead in the first overtime, but the Patriots would split a pair of free throws to send the game into a second overtime. George Mason would go in front 75-71 with 2:17 to go but the Pirates would hold the Patriots without a field goal for the rest of the game and outscore them 7-2 down the stretch to earn the hard-fought win.
Game Notes
- RJ Felton continues to climb the ECU record books, moving to 10th all-time in program history in career points with 1,247.
- Felton also scored in double figures for the 29th straight game and played a career-high 46 minutes.
- The Pirates’ victory over George Mason snaps a two-game losing skid to the Patriots and is ECU’s first win against George Mason since Dec. 2, 2007.
- ECU is 4-0 to start a season for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.
- ECU improves to 2-1 in overtime contests under Schwartz.
- Saturday’s win marks the first multi-overtime victory for the Pirates since Jan. 25, 2003 when ECU defeated South Florida at home, 68-62, double overtime.
- The Pirates’ 24 offensive rebounds are tied for the most in the Schwartz era.
East Carolina travels to Daytona Beach, Fla. to face Jacksonville State at 3:30 p.m. in the first game of the Boardwalk Battle.