Thompson leads George Mason to 68-62 win over Ole Miss

Shooting more efficiently and dominating the rebound battle, George Mason pulled off a mild upset on Thursday at the Charleston Classic, dumping Ole Miss 68-62 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.

Guard Marquise Moore scored 12 and point guard Otis Livingston contributed 10 points as George Mason handed new coach Dave Paulsen his first win. The Patriots decision-making? That’s still a work in progress.

Towson gets another Power Five conference opponent in Ole Miss of the Southeastern Conference on Friday to avoid the seventh-place game here Sunday. “A couple of the plays our freshmen made the last minute, I think they’re trying to put me in the box”.

ABOUT OLE MISS (2-1): a few of the Rebels’ shooting woes were attributed to the rim-protecting presence of George Mason big man Shevon Thompson who was credited with three of the Patriots’ seven blocked shots while scoring a game-high 19 points and collecting 16 rebounds.

The Ole Miss starters struggled to hit shots against George Mason. “I thought he was really dominant against us”.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (3-0): With Forte and Newberry going down after scoring a combined 15 points, the Cowboys needed somebody to step up, and reserves Chris Olivier and Jeffery Carroll answered the call.

Forte, a senior captain who entered the eight-team tournament averaging a team-best 17 points, landed hard on his elbow in the first half of Thursday’s 69-52 victory over Towson and didn’t play after halftime.

George Mason: The Patriots are back in the Charleston Classic for the first time since 2010.

Jaire Grayer had 15 points and Moore 12 for the Patriots.

Both teams looked like they had this won in regulation.