GAME NOTES: The George Mason Patriots and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet up at Coliseo Roberto Clemente on Thursday night as part of the opening round of the 2014 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The Patriots are a long way from their hometown of Fairfax, Virginia where they hosted their first two games of the season. Both opponents came out of the Ivy League, but George Mason had differing results, falling to Cornell in the opener (68-60) before topping Princeton (63-60).

West Virginia also played its first two games at home, welcoming Monmouth and Lafayette to Morgantown last weekend. The Mountaineers posted victories against both, 64-54 over the Hawks and 83-56 versus the Leopards.

The winner of this contest will challenge either New Mexico or Boston College, while the loser of each contest will also collide.

West Virginia has never lost to George Mason in three previous matchups. The most recent took place back in 1987, with the Mountaineers prevailing, 89-81.

George Mason led for more than 39 minutes against Princeton and pushed out to a 17-point advantage in the first half, However, the Patriots received quite a scare down the stretch, with their lead at only 61-59 with 41 seconds to play. They then went 2-of-4 at the free-throw line to give the Tigers a chance but fortunately, the visitors missed their only field goal attempt in the final seconds.

Scoring has not come easily for the Patriots in the early going, with the team finishing below 70 points in each of the first two games, while shooting just 36.6 percent from the field. Part of the problem is a lack of variety on offense, with Patrick Holloway dominating the ball. Holloway has taken 33 shots this season, making 14 to total 41 points. Shevon Thompson and Julian Royal have each taken 13 shots, which is tied for the second-most on the team. Thompson has been more important on the boards though, with 19 rebounds in two games.

The Mountaineers were far from perfect against Lafayette, but they feasted on the myriad of mistakes the Leopards made. West Virginia forced 20 turnovers in the contest, which led to 25 points. In comparison, the Mountaineers coughed the ball up only six times. With so many extra possessions, they were able to overcome a 38.3 percent shooting effort, because they took 81 shots, compared to 46 by the opposition.

Poor shooting has been a theme already for the Mountaineers, who have converted just 32.7 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 14-of-62 showing from 3-point range, in the first two games. Devin Williams (15 ppg) and Juwan Staten (15 ppg) have each put up big point totals early on. Staten has done so with some efficiency (.444 FG percentage), while handing out 10 total assists. Williams has hauled in 26 total rebounds, but he has made only 31.8 percent of his shots. Jaysean Paige (10.5 ppg) and Jonathan Holton (10 ppg, 11. rpg) have been solid contributors as well.

This may not be the flashiest game, as both squads have been ice cold from the floor to start the season. However, the Mountaineers have found ways to win despite lackluster offensive play. That said, they are the better team and should do more than enough to come out on top.