Saint Louis Beats George Mason 83-78 to Open A-10 Championship

NEW YORK (AP) - Marcus Bartley scored a career-high 24 points and Saint Louis beat George Mason 83-78 in the opener of the Atlantic 10 Conference championship on Wednesday night.

The 13th-seeded Billikens (11-20) snapped a four-game losing streak and will play fifth-seeded George Washington on Thursday at Barclays Center. Davell Roby added 18 points for Saint Louis.

Marquise Moore scored 17 points for 12th-seeded George Mason (11-21), which has been knocked out during the first day of the A-10 tournament in each of its three seasons in the conference.

The Patriots pulled within 63-62 on a 3 by Otis Livingston with 6:13 left in the second half. But that was as close as George Mason would get. Roby made a 3 with 5:06 remaining to make it 68-63.

Bartley, a sophomore who was averaging 3.1 points, scored 14 in the first half, with a career-best four 3-pointers. He finished 7 of 8 from 3-point range.