No. 18 VCU 72, George Mason 60: Melvin Johnson scored 17 points as the shorthanded Rams notched their seventh consecutive road victory with a win over the Patriots.

JeQuan Lewis tallied 11 of his 13 points in the second half for VCU (18-4, 8-1 Atlantic 10), which played the second half without leading scorer Treveon Graham (ankle) after losing point guard and defensive linchpin Briante Weber (torn ACL, MCL and meniscus) for the season in Saturday’s home loss to Richmond. Justin Tillman chipped in with 10 points for the Rams, who recorded 10 steals and forced 18 turnovers.

Jalen Jenkins had 15 points while Isaiah Jackson contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for George Mason (7-14, 2-7), which lost for the sixth time in seven contests. Patrick Holloway returned from a three-game absence to finish with 13 points, Corey Edwards added 11 and freshman Shevon Thompson hauled in 16 rebounds for the Patriots.

Johnson scored eight points in the first 4 ½ minutes of the contest for VCU, which quickly succumbed to a 14-0 run as George Mason led by as many as nine on two occasions. The Rams trailed by eight with less than five minutes remaining before connecting on five of their final seven shots of the first half to settle for a 34-32 halftime deficit.

A 3-pointer by Johnson less than two minutes after intermission sparked a 14-2 surge that allowed VCU to build a nine-point lead while Lewis scored seven straight points during a 13-4 spurt to make it 62-52 with 6:13 left after the Patriots rallied within one. George Mason closed within five twice more, but could manage only one free throw over the final 2:56 while Mo Alie-Cox helped put the game away with a pair of thunderous transition dunks over the same stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: VCU improved to 14-0 when scoring 70 or more points and 15-0 when holding its opponent below that benchmark. … George Mason, which has lost four straight and 11 of 15 in this series, collected a season-high tying 19 offensive boards and won the rebounding battle 43-27. … The Rams are 14-0 when forcing at least 16 turnovers.