Mountaineers Rally to Defeat George Mason in Charity Exhibition Game

Friday, October 27

Morgantown, W.Va.

7 p.m.

West Virginia University

George Mason

West Virginia

Mountaineers Rally to Defeat George Mason in Charity Exhibition Game

October 27, 2023 10:18 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score WVU-George Mason Box Score Josh Eilert Postgame

By: John Antonik

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia used 21 points and seven rebounds from Jesse Edwards and 21 points off the bench from Quinn Slazinski to rally for an 85-78 victory over George Mason in a charity exhibition game to benefit WVU Medicine Children's tonight at the WVU Coliseum.

A scary moment occured with 15:56 remaining in the game when West Virginia forward Akok Akok collapsed and fell to the ground after a personal foul was called on George Mason's Malik Henry.

Medical personnel immediately attended to Akok on the floor and after approximately 15 minutes he was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital.

A statement was released by West Virginia University associate athletics director Bryan Messerly during the game.

"WVU forward Akok Akok suffered a medical emergency during the second half of the West Virginia-George Mason charity exhibition game," the statement began. "He was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital for further evaluation. More information will be provided when available."

Afterward, West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert said during his postgame radio show that he received a message from the hospital that Akok was alert and wished his teammates well.

The game resumed after a five-minute warmup period with West Virginia trailing 53-48.

A Kerr Kriisa 3, a Slazinski free throw and a Kobe Johnson jumper reduced the Patriots' lead to one, 57-56, and then freshman forward Ofri Naveh tied the game at 59 with an emphatic dunk. That play seemed to ignite the Mountaineers.

West Virginia took its first lead of the second half with 8:19 remaining on Josiah Harris' triple, and after exchanging baskets, West Virginia took control of the game with 4:04 left. Baraka Okojie was called for a flagrant foul while Kerr Kriisa was attempting a 3-point shot. Kriisa rolled his ankle on the play, requiring his ankle to be taped, and Slazinski was brought in to shoot three free throws, making two of three.

Seth Wilson added a driving layup with 3:27 to go to give the Mountaineers a 74-71 lead. It swelled to six on Edwards' conventional three-point play and grew to nine, 80-71, with 2:08 left on Edwards' second three-point play.

George Mason's largest lead was 10 points with 2:36 remaining in the first half.

Virginia Tech transfer Darius Maddox led the Patriots with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Keyshawn Hall, a UNLV transfer, contributed 12 points while Okojie, Ronald Polite III and Oklahoma State transfer Woody Newton scored 11 each.

Harris added 12 and Kriisa finished with 11 for West Virginia.

George Mason, shooting nearly 70 percent in the first half, finished the game connecting on 48.1% of its field goal attempts. West Virginia shot 43.5% overall and made 22-of-29 from the free throw line for 75.9%.

Now the Mountaineers will get ready for their season opener a week from Monday when they play host to Missouri State at the WVU Coliseum. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.