UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - "This can't happen again," Penn State's Payton Banks said to a quiet media room following an 85-66 loss to George Mason Wednesday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions looked primed for success early on, opening the game with a 10-5 run in less than five minutes. Sparked by a dunk from Mike Watkins just seven seconds in, Penn State saw its early scoring streak boosted by back-to-back triples from Tony Carr and Payton Banks.
As quickly as Penn State went up, George Mason responded, surging back to build the Patriot lead to as many as seven, 22-15 with 11:35 remaining as Carr picked up his second foul of the night.