Johnson scores 20 as George Mason defeats Samford 86-69 in NIT

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K.D. Johnson gets the and-1 to fall

K.D. Johnson gets the and-1 to fall

Mar 19, 2026, 10:07 pm

FAIRFAX, Va. -- — K.D. Johnson scored 20 points off of the bench, Zach Anderson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and George Mason beat Samford 86-69 on Wednesday night in the NIT.

Johnson added five assists and four steals for the Patriots (27-8). Anderson went 6 of 8 from the floor, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range, and 4 for 5 from the line. Darius Maddox shot 5 for 13, including 5 for 12 from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points.

Jaden Brownell finished with 27 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (22-11). Samford also got 10 points and three steals from Lukas Walls.

George Mason took the lead with 15:36 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Anderson led his team in scoring with 11 points in the first half to help put them up 45-24 at the break. Johnson scored a team-high 13 points after intermission.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.