FridA10 Notebook: George Mason looks strong as ever; Stewart surprises in Richmond

It seemed like all hope was lost for George Mason just 15 minutes into the 2025-26 season when Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection Brayden O’Connor abruptly went down with a foot injury.

His omission from Tony Skinn’s rotation felt like a huge loss on the season, but the Patriots still handily beat Wofford on opening night, 70-46. They then went on to win their next eight games and started 9-0.

Others stepped up in O’Connor’s wake like Kory Mincy, Jahari Long and Masai Troutman to lead the program to a fourth consecutive 20+ win season and an NIT appearance, even if they did falter in February.

Well, 365 days later and O’Connor is back in Fairfax, finally healthy. He was picked to the All-A10 Preseason Team once again as George Mason embarks on a new season. 

“[Brayden] is probably one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached,” Skinn said. “When you get hurt the first game into the season and have to sit out, that’s something mentally that sometimes you’re not able to recover from. He’s recovered 100%.”

However, the talent around him might be even stronger than it was just a year ago as Skinn and Co. scoured the transfer portal to reconstruct a roster that returned essentially three players. The recruitment paid dividends on opening night of the 2026-27 season as George Mason hosted UMBC and led for the entire 40 minutes of an 82-54 win behind five double-digit scorers.

Butler transfer Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor took the reins with a game-high 17 points, including a timely three immediately followed by a steal and a fast break dunk that set the second half tone. Skinn claimed his performance gave fans a preview of the impact he can have at the A10 level.

On his head 🔥@efeosaoliogu11 slams it down for your Dolce Vita Play of the Game #PatriotPressure | #NOVAsTeampic.twitter.com/As2y4uihVM

— George Mason Men’s Basketball (@MasonMBB) November 3, 2026

“[Efeosa] was in high school and at Butler with a little bit less usage,” Skinn said. “I thought his dynamic would be one of the best in our league, if not one of the best in the country. I’ve had multiple people at the next level call me about [him].”

UTEP transfer Elijah Jones managed 13 points and eight rebounds. Makhai Valentine, from Northern Illinois, had 12 points, and four-star freshman Shane Pendergrass broke out with 11 points. 

Baraka Okojie uncharacteristically struggled shooting but finished with seven points and five assists, while Emmanuel Kanga grabbed 10 boards and still added six points. Both are expected to play big roles this season; Okojie is billed as one of the league’s premier scoring guards, and Kanga is potentially on the cusp of a sophomore leap.

Even O’Connor chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds, but that combination of talent and depth was something Skinn lacked in the dog of February and March last season. All the added offensive prowess takes a lot of the pressure off O’Connor as he looks to get back up to speed in his return from injury. He doesn’t have to be the primary contributor right away if this team is going to be competitive and the Patriots already look all the better for it.

“I’m just happy for [Brayden],” Skinn said. “We’re going to be a really good team because he’s a guy who was on our team two years ago and helped us win an A10 Championship.”

Scores and storylines from around the A10

Davidson 76, Washington State 61 

Washington State isn’t the high-major opponent it once was and is actually ranked lower by KenPom than Davidson. Either way this was still a performance that helped to ease some worries about the Wildcats offense.

Dayton 89, NJIT 58 

Maybe four-star freshman guard Aiden Derkack wasn’t talked about enough this offseason? More importantly, the Flyers might have their point guard position sorted out with Tristian Ford posting 13 points, four assists and no turnovers with an assist rate in the 78th percentile.

Duquesne 78, Purdue Fort Wayne 71

It took a Josh Smith and Kerem Konan scoring surge late into the second half to help Duquesne see out a Tuesday night win as Purdue Fort Wayne led by as much as six with 11 minutes left. The Dukes are desperately missing Tarence Guinyard.

Looks like Tarence Guinyard is inactive as Duquesne opens its season against PFW tonight.

The 2025-26 All-A10 First Team selection was recently granted a fifth year of eligibility after a court injunction but is still battling an appeals process on his case.

— Riley Frain (@rileyfrain) November 4, 2026

Fordham 83, Stonehill 63 

It felt like the Lateef Patrick Jr. show at Rose Hill Gymnasium on Thursday night as the Stephen F. Austin transfer led Fordham to a 20-point win with a second half outpouring. He finished with 22 points, scoring 19 after halftime to help the Rams pull away despite a slow start.

“I just got hot,” Patrick said. “My teammates looking for me,  sharing the ball, running our offense, throwing [the ball] inside, it opens up shots for me. Ultimately that’s where it comes from.”

George Washington 91, Navy 39

It wasn’t Jean Aranguren, Omari Witherspoon or Dylan James leading the way as many expected, but instead Felix Kossaras, Ryder Frost and Promis N’Landu combined for 42 points.

No. 10 Houston 94, La Salle 55

La Salle scored only .75 points per possession, which is the 11th worst in the country. Good news for the Explorers is Kam Burton won’t shy away from shooting threes for an offense that desperately needs it, and freshman RJ Smith looked the part of a poised playmaker. 

Loyola Chicago 76, West Georgia 53 

Even if Loyola Chicago’s two wins are against teams ranked in KenPom’s bottom 320, that still feels like progress from last season. The Dayan Nessah A10 return experiment is seemingly working so far, and he’s proving a more willing 3-point shooter.

Rhode Island 103, Holy Cross 59 

Yes, Jonah Hinton did his thing and dropped 24 points on 6-of-9 from behind the arc, but the versatility of Matas Deniusas and Jason Fontenet II were also impressive. 

Dominick Stewart has been better than advertised for Richmond

In a portal class that included Jamie Kaiser Jr., Jack McCaffery, Derin Saran, Amon Dörries and more, it seemed like Penn State transfer Dominick Stewart was the least talked about addition. Well, he’s leading the Spiders with an average of 23 points per game while sitting in the 95th percentile for his true shooting percentage and the 98th for his efficiency rating. 

Youngstown State 79, St. Bonaventure 71

Youngstown State led for the greater majority of this game even with a valiant effort from Zach Philipkoski, who had 28 points and is now 14th nationally in Bart Torvik’s all-encompassing PRPG! metric.

Saint Joseph’s 82, Longwood 73

This game was much closer than the score would indicate as St. Joe’s slowed late into the second half and almost let Longwood claw back in. Nobody was talking about BJ Ranson as a potential A10 Rookie of the Year candidate outside of Hawk Hill this offseason, but they should be after Wednesday night.

Robbie Avila officially receives fifth year and will return for Saint Louis

As reported by Stu Durando on Thursday, 2025-26 A10 Player of the Year Robbie Avila was granted a permanent injunction for a fifth year of eligibility and will return tonight as Saint Louis faces Missouri. MMM’s very own Jonathan Lidskin will be on scene with coverage from the Enterprise Center so check it out on his Twitter @JonathanLidskin.

VCU 82, Little Rock 72

Not the best season-opening performance from the Rams with head coach Phil Martelli Jr. claiming it was a tough matchup to prepare for against a recently hired coach and 14 new players. There was a ton of fast-break offense from VCU though, and it led to a plethora of foul shooting opportunities. This team now ranks first nationally in free throw offense. On to a much tougher opponent… a visit with Memphis off an upset at No. 18 Iowa State lies ahead.

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