La Salle hammered for a second time at George Mason, loses 89-54

The Explorers shot and defended poorly in the first half to trail 47-23 and never recovered. They now move on to the Atlantic 10 Tournament, where they will take on St. Joseph's in the first round.

Guard David Beatty and La Salle will face St. Joseph's next in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

by Joe Juliano

Published Feb. 27, 2021, 8:40 p.m. ET

The final game of the Atlantic 10′s regular season meant nothing but frustration Saturday for La Salle on a festive Senior Day at George Mason.

The Explorers’ shooters couldn’t find the basket. Their defense was unable to locate the Patriots’ big men, allowing too many layups and dunks. And they lost their cool in the second half with three technical fouls, two of which resulted in the ejection of senior leader David Beatty.

The result wasn’t pretty, an 89-54 victory for the Patriots at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va., or worse than the 75-42 thumping that the Explorers suffered at the same venue on Jan. 13.

“It’s hard to be the away team playing on Senior Day,” La Salle coach Ashley Howard said. “Guys are inspired. The seniors play well and the other guys want to send their seniors out with a bang. George Mason played a really good game. They came out, they were on fire, making every shot. We tried to hang in there but the game got away from us.”

That happened in the first half when Mason (12-8, 8-6 A-10) deposited nine layups and dunks in taking a 47-23 advantage, shooting 67% to 32% for the visitors. The deficit was 31 less than four minutes into the second half and 39 late in the game, which had been rescheduled by the conference replacing a home game that was on the original schedule.

Jared Kimbrough led the Explorers (9-15, 6-11) with 21 points and Beatty added 12 before he was ejected with 7 minutes, 12 seconds to play. Beatty picked up his second technical foul at the end of a continuous war of words with Mason’s Javon Greene that resulted in double technicals earlier in the second half.

Point guard Jhamir Brickus was whistled for a T with just under three minutes remaining after protesting he was fouled on a three-point shot.

“It’s unacceptable,” Howard said.

The Explorers, seeded No. 12 in the final standings, now move on to the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Richmond, Va., where their first-round opponent will be No. 13 St. Joseph’s. It will be the third game of the season between the Big 5 rivals who split their two A-10 contests.

Howard said he’ll rest the players that are a little banged up. Jack Clark and Clifton Moore sat out Saturday’s game with injuries they sustained Wednesday against Duquesne, but he said they will be back Wednesday.

“But the most important thing is, just being able to go down there with clear minds and fresh bodies and prepare to get a W,” he said.