Liberty Flames vs George Mason Patriots, NIT 1st Round

College Basketball

Liberty

26-7

77-71

Final

George Mason

23-10

EagleBank Arena

Lead tracker

LIB leadsBiggest lead LIB 15, GMU 0

GMU leads

Team	1H	2H	T
LIB	34	43	77
GMU	24	47	71

Who won: Liberty 77-71

The Liberty Flames beat the George Mason Patriots 77-71 in NIT 1st Round on Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at EagleBank Arena. The Liberty outscored the George Mason 34-24 in the 1st half. Josh Smith led the Liberty in points (23). Jahari Long led the George Mason in points (27).

Player of the game

Josh Smith

LIB · 23 PTS, 9 REB

8.8

Win probability

100%LIB final

LIBGMU

Tap or hover the line to see the play. Dots mark the biggest swings.

Play by play

End of Game
End of 2nd half
H2 0:02
+2
Layup
Jahari Long makes layup
J. Long · 27 PTS
LIB 77 - 71 GMU
SLAMH2 0:03
Dunk, 4 ft
Z. Carter · 10 PTS · ast J. Harper
Zander Carter makes 4-foot dunk (JJ Harper assists)
LIB 77 - 69 GMU
H2 0:07
Steal
JJ Harper Steal.
J. Harper · 8 PTS
H2 0:07
TO
Bad pass turnover
Jahari Long bad pass turnover
J. Long · 27 PTS
H2 0:11
+1
Makes free throw 2 of 2
Josh Smith makes free throw 2 of 2
J. Smith · 23 PTS
LIB 75 - 69 GMU
H2 0:11
+1
Makes free throw 1 of 2
Josh Smith makes free throw 1 of 2
J. Smith · 23 PTS
LIB 74 - 69 GMU
H2 0:11
Foul on Riley Allenspach
Foul on Riley Allenspach.
R. Allenspach · 9 PTS
H2 0:12
Defensive rebound
Josh Smith Defensive Rebound.
H2 0:12
Misses 26-foot three point jumper
Kory Mincy misses 26-foot three point jumper
K. Mincy · 16 PTS
H2 0:27
+1
Makes free throw 2 of 2
Josh Smith makes free throw 2 of 2
J. Smith · 23 PTS
LIB 73 - 69 GMU
H2 0:27
+1
Makes free throw 1 of 2
Josh Smith makes free throw 1 of 2
J. Smith · 23 PTS
LIB 72 - 69 GMU
H2 0:27
Foul on Malik Presley
Foul on Malik Presley.
M. Presley
H2 0:28
+1
Makes free throw 2 of 2
Jahari Long makes free throw 2 of 2
J. Long · 27 PTS
LIB 71 - 69 GMU
H2 0:28
+1
Makes free throw 1 of 2
Jahari Long makes free throw 1 of 2
J. Long · 27 PTS
LIB 71 - 68 GMU
H2 0:28
Foul on Josh Smith
Foul on Josh Smith.
J. Smith · 23 PTS
SLAMH2 0:39
Dunk, 3 ft
J. Harper · 8 PTS · ast B. Decker Jr.
JJ Harper makes 3-foot dunk (Brett Decker Jr. assists)
LIB 71 - 67 GMU
H2 0:41
Defensive rebound
Brett Decker Jr. Defensive Rebound.
H2 0:45
Block
JJ Harper Block.
J. Harper · 8 PTS
H2 0:45
Misses 15-foot jumper
Kory Mincy misses 15-foot jumper
K. Mincy · 16 PTS
H2 0:57
+2
Layup
Zach Cleveland makes layup
Z. Cleveland · 9 PTS
LIB 69 - 67 GMU
H2 1:18
+1
Makes free throw 2 of 2
Emmanuel Kanga makes free throw 2 of 2
E. Kanga · 12 PTS
LIB 67 - 67 GMU
H2 1:18
+1
Makes free throw 1 of 2
Emmanuel Kanga makes free throw 1 of 2
E. Kanga · 12 PTS
LIB 67 - 66 GMU
H2 1:18
Foul on Josh Smith
Foul on Josh Smith.
J. Smith · 23 PTS