WASHINGTON, D.C. -- You can officially wipe the slate clean. This is a brand new Cornell basketball team - and it started on the defensive end.

Senior Shonn Miller, in his first game back after missing the entirety of the 2013-14 season that saw Cornell win just one Division I game and two contests overall, dominated with 21 points, 13 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots as the Big Red topped George Mason 68-60 on Friday evening at the Patriot Center in the season opener for both teams. Miller spearheaded a defensive charge that held the Patriots out of the Atlantic 10 to just 31 percent shooting and a miserable 7-of-27 evening from 3-point range (26 percent).

Miller wasn't the only highlight of a game that saw everyone contribute. Sophomore Robert Hatter matched Miller with a game-hgh 21 points and added five rebounds, while senior captain Devin Cherry notched a near triple-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Senior Galal Cancer, also returning after a year away from basketball, had seven points, three rebounds and two assists in his return, while sophomore David Onuorah had six points and five boards.

Picked eighth in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, Cornell sent a message that it won't be a pushover. The first step came in head coach Bill Courtney's old stomping grounds at George Mason, where the fifth-year Big Red mentor served eight seasons as assistant and associate head coach. He recruited the core of players that helped the Patriots to the 2006 NCAA Final Four, but this time he returned wearing the visitor's colors.

Defensively, the Big Red was outstanding over the first 20 minutes and made just enough shots to take a 34-31 halftime lead. Cornell held George Mason to 11-of-33 shooting (33 percent) in the half, including 6-of-25 to start the contest.

Miller hit three late jumpers, two from beyond the arc, and a long two-pointer at the buzzer to send the visitors into the break with the momentum. The senior added five rebounds and a monstrous blocked shot to energize the defense early. Hatter hit all three of his field goals, including both 3-point attempts, for 10 first half points, while Cherry grabbed six rebounds and had five assists. The Big Red more than held its own on the backboards, outboarding its Atlantic 10 foe 21-19 in the half.

Cornell hit its first four 3-pointers of the night and jumped out to a 18-10 lead seven minutes in after the second consecutive trey by Hatter and a pair of free throws by Cancer. The Patriots overtook the Big Red at 21-20 with just over five minutes to play in the half on back-to-back treys by Holloway, and it was back-and-forth the rest of the half with four lead changes and a couple ties down the stretch.

Cornell opened the second half with a 7-0 run, with Miller hitting a 3-pointer, Onuorah finishing a dunk and Cherry going coast-to-coast for a layup to force a GMU timeout. The Patriots wouldn't get closer than seven points with under a minute to play, as the Big Red answered every mini-Mason run with defensive stops and finished the game like it hadn't the previous year.

Patrick Holloway had a game-high 22 points to lead George Mason, though eight came in the final 34 seconds after the game had all but been decided. 

Cornell won the battle of the boards (46-38) and attempted 28 free throws while connecting on half of its 18 3-point attempts. The defense forced just five turnovers while committing 16 themselves, but its suffocating defense and ability to clean the defensive glass allowed it to snap a 17-game road losing streak.

The Big Red will look to make it 2-0 on the young season when it visits Loyola (MD) on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.