The win was Maryland's fourth-straight triumph over the Patriots, a streak that began in the 2015-16 season.
The Terps got off to a fast start in the dual, winning the first three matches of the dual with bonus points. 125-pounder Brandon Cray started it off with a technical fall, winning 16-0 and closing out the bout in just the second period. It was Cray's first dual win that came via technical fall.
True freshman Orion Anderson then matched Cray's technical fall with one of his own, posting 21 points on the way to his second dual win of his collegiate career. It was Anderson's second bonus point victory this season, as the freshman previously won by fall at the Princeton Open at the beginning of the year.
Sophomore Danny Bertoni kept the bonus point party going for the Terps at 141, winning by major decision over George Mason's Julio Alegria. Bertoni opened the scoring with a takedown in the first period and was then able to distance himself with a reversal and four back points to kick off the second. Two more points in the third gave the Jefferson, Maryland native an 11-1 win and the first dual victory of his collegiate career.
Redshirt senior Alfred Bannister won a tight one at 149, winning in sudden victory over Mason's Tejon Anthony. Bannister struck first in the opening period, getting in on a single leg and securing a takedown. Anthony escaped to cut into the lead and then tied the score after Bannister was hit with his second stall of the match.
After Anthony took the lead with an escape in the second, Bannister leveled the score once again with an escape of his own in the third. Neither wrestler scored the rest of the way, sending the two to sudden victory.
With nothing going either way for the first 50 seconds of the sudden victory period, Bannister found the edge in the final 10 seconds to grab a takedown just before the horn. It was his second-career win over Anthony, as the two split a pair of previous meetings.
Maryland did not allow a single takedown in its opening four victories, the longest streak of the season.
The Patriots then responded with a pair of wins at 157 and 165, cutting Maryland's lead to 10 entering the final four matches of the day.
Redshirt junior Josh Ugalde put Maryland back in the win column at 174, winning with a 4-2 decision. Ugalde distanced himself with a pair of near-fall points in the third period and picked up his third dual victory of the season. It was also the first time in his career that the Bound Brook, New Jersey native won back-to-back dual matches.
184-pounder Kyle Jasenski then made it consecutive wins for the Terrapins, picking up a 6-4 decision victory. The redshirt freshman scored an early takedown before showing off some solid defense to hold a 2-1 lead into the second. With the match later tied at three, Jasenski scored a key reversal to take a 5-3 lead that would prove to be the difference in the contest.
Jasenski now sits tied with teammate Philip Spadafora for the third-most dual wins on Maryland's roster.
After the Patriots earned a win at 197, Maryland's heavyweight Youssif Hemida closed out the dual with Maryland's second sudden victory win of the afternoon.
Despite a lot of action in the first period, neither Hemida nor George Mason's 15th-ranked Matt Voss were able to score a point. Hemida took the lead to start the second, opting to start on bottom and earning an escape.
Voss then evened the score with an escape of his own, tying the match early in the third period. Both wrestlers nearly secured a takedown in the final seconds of regulation, but no control was awarded and the two entered sudden victory.
For the second time in the dual, Maryland's wrestler secured a late takedown in the sudden victory period to earn a decision victory. The win was also Hemida's second triumph over a ranked opponent this season.
Next, Maryland will close out its conference schedule with a home match against Rutgers on Friday, Feb. 22. The match will begin at 7 p.m., and Maryland will honor its graduating class in a pre-match ceremony.
Results:
125: Brandon Cray (Maryland) over Spencer Reed (George Mason) (TF 16-0 4:32)
133: Orion Anderson (Maryland) over Talha Farooq (George Mason) (TF 21-6 6:52)
141: Danny Bertoni (Maryland) over Julio Alegria (George Mason) (MD 11-1)
149: Alfred Bannister (Maryland) over Tejon Anthony (George Mason) (SV-1 5-3)
157: Kolby Ho (George Mason) over Ryan Diehl (Maryland) (Dec 6-3)
165: Colston DiBlasi (George Mason) over Phillip Spadafora (Maryland) (MD 9-0)
174: Josh Ugalde (Maryland) over Neil Schuster (George Mason) (Dec 4-2)
184: Kyle Jasenski (Maryland) over Phillip Stolfi (George Mason) (Dec 6-4)
197: Eli Spencer (George Mason) over Niko Cappello (Maryland) (TF 15-0 7:00)
285: Youssif Hemida (Maryland) over Matt Voss (George Mason) (SV-1 3-1)
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