Amani Hansberry and Virginia Tech blasted George Mason on Saturday. (Ivan Morozov)

Virginia Tech blasted past previously undefeated George Mason 73-62 on Saturday afternoon in Cassell Coliseum, a result that could pay dividends down the road.

The Hokies (8-2) blew the Patriots’ (9-1) doors off at the end of the first half, ripping off a 14-2 run over the final 3:33, and they pushed the lead to as many as 23 in the second half. That was against a GMU squad that entered the day No. 41 in the NET rankings and was the fourth-best 3-point shooting team at 41.9 percent.

“Our team was ready to play,” Tech head coach Mike Young said. “Had to be. George Mason’s good, came in at 9-0, some pretty gaudy statistics coming in on both ends of the floor. … We were rested again, we had good practices on Thursday and Friday. … The game is easier when it’s going in the basket, great sharing, and that’s a big deal in the game.”

Tech matter-of-factly held Mason to its second-lowest mark from the outside on the year at 33.3 percent (7-for-21) and ran away with the game behind 21 points off turnovers. It repeatedly turned defense into offense and the visitors couldn’t keep up.

“It was one of our main focuses not letting them shoot threes,” Tech forward Tyler Johnson said, “because those dudes, you look at their percentages, they don’t miss. Everybody on the team can shoot, so it’s like we’re not letting them get threes up. Make them shoot tough twos, make them shoot shots they don’t want to shoot.”

The Hokies had several contributors, but guard Jaden Schutt was a focal point. He sparked them at the end of the first half with three 3-pointers to send them into the break up 43-30. On top of that, he tacked on back-to-back triples to cap off a 13-0 run in the second half that essentially put the game out of reach for the Patriots with 14:47 remaining.

“Those types of swings can really uplift your team, and we certainly had that this afternoon,” Young said.

Schutt led all scorers with 18 points on a career-high six treys, which came on 12 attempts. He made five in a row after missing his first attempt before cooling off down the stretch.

He’s currently playing his best basketball to date, averaging 11.2 points off the bench while making a 44.6 percent clip from deep. Over the last four games, he’s 15-for-32 (46.9%), which also included a 4-for-8 mark vs. Saint Mary’s.

Jaden Schutt continues to give Virginia Tech a lift off the bench. (Ivan Morozov)

“He’s been healthy,” Young said of Schutt, knocking on wood in the process. “His first two years, he was dinged up and didn’t have the opportunity to work on his game, work on his body the way we need to as young people developing through the ranks. He’s been healthy for quite some time now. Goodness, stay that way. Consequently, he looks great. His weight’s 210, somewhere in there, he’s playing strong, he’s guarding so much better than he did a year ago. I cannot compliment Jaden Schutt more. He’s a darn good ball player.”

The Hokies did a good job of feeding Schutt, too. Five of his six triples were assisted — twice from Amani Hansberry, twice from Johnson and once from Neoklis Avdalas. The one that wasn’t also came from Hansberry, who stole the ball on one end, got it back on the other, dribbled towards Schutt in the left corner and freed him up with a dribble handoff and screen for an open three.

“There’s nothing I don’t like,” Young said about Hansberry’s game. “He might make a mistake, he might have a defensive lapse, but the kid is brilliant. He’s not smart, he’s flipping brilliant on both ends of the floor, and to see that rascal out there handling the ball and dribble handoff and zoom [action] and all of this stuff, he’s the straw that stirs [the drink].”

Young described Hansberry as a ‘connector’ in the preseason, and he played like it on Saturday, dishing out a career-high six assists while also adding 15 points, seven rebounds and a career-high three steals. He constantly got his teammates open and put the ball where it needed to go, and when his number was called in the pick-and-roll game, he excelled, making seven of his 10 field goal attempts.

“I think he’s been fluid,” Young said. “This is hard. You’re bringing in so many new faces. It doesn’t just happen. … It takes time, and it really takes time because of that ball. That ball requires timing and it requires execution, it requires people moving in concert with one another, screening, cutting, passing. What’s a good shot, what’s a bad shot? … Amani has been fluid with it since he got here, but his teammates are finding out how best to play with him.”

“You say you want to play with players that make other players better. He’s definitely one of those guys,” Schutt said of Hansberry. “Him on the court, the whole team just lifts up. He makes the game easy for us, he does a lot of the hard things where he sees the play ahead of the play, and that’s a really valuable thing. He’s willing to sacrifice his body for screens and stuff. Just a really fun player to play with.”

Other guys stepped up, too, like Johnson, who had 13 points and five rebounds, and Ben Hammond, who posted 10 points and four boards. Avdalas also added six points and six assists while Antonio Dorn chipped in five points.

It was Hansberry and Dorn who got things started early, Schutt who helped provide a cushion, Johnson whose transition dunk forced George Mason to call timeout at the 15:58 mark of the second half and Schutt who pushed the Patriots away for good.

On the other side, GMU leading scorer Kory Mincy — who entered the day averaging 19 points per game — racked up 16 points and eight assists on 6-for-11 shooting. He was also responsible for three of the team’s seven triples. However, the Patriots didn’t have any other consistent options, with center Riley Allenspach (11 points, 4-for-10 FG, five rebounds) and Jahari Long (10 points, 2-for-5 3FG) being their next two highest scorers.

Virginia Tech defended George Mason well on Saturday. (Ivan Morozov)

“Just stopping their two main scorers,” Johnson said of Tech’s defensive success. “Then just rebounding the ball and stopping their second-chance points. That was our main focus, but just being men out there and guarding the ball, guarding your yard and not getting that one dude beat us.”

Given the upcoming opponents — Western Carolina, Maryland Eastern Shore and Elon — the victory over GMU marked the last real non-conference challenge for the Hokies in non-conference play.

They’re 8-2 through 10 games and should have three more wins under their belt when they host rival Virginia on New Year’s Eve. Their only two defeats will have come without starting forward Tobi Lawal, who was in a boot and on a scooter on Saturday. And it feels like, despite their setbacks in the Bahamas, they bounced back with a pep in their step vs. South Carolina and George Mason.

“I like the rotation that we have right now,” Young said, “and this team is continuing to get better, and we’ve got another opportunity on Thursday. I’m looking forward to it.”

Box Score: Virginia Tech 73, George Mason 62