Travis Lindquist / Getty Images

George Mason's Folarin Campbell, left, celebrates a basket with teammate Wendell Preadom. The Patriots beat Wichita State 63-55 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

George Mason led by as many as 19 in the second half, and Wichita State’s offense never got going consistently. One sequence, with about 2½ minutes left, captured the Shockers’ rough night: They got three straight offensive rebounds, but the first two putbacks were strongly contested and didn’t fall, and on the third, P.J. Couisnard simply missed an open layup.

Wichita State started hitting some shots late, getting as close as 62-55 on Wilson’s 3-pointer with 23 seconds left. But that was it, and George Mason held on despite shaky foul shooting, then jumped on each other, shouted and pointed to their vocal cheering section.

The Shockers were playing about 1,200 miles from Wichita, Kan. George Mason’s main campus, in Fairfax, Va., is about 20 miles from the Verizon Center, where the Patriots played one “home” game this season.

More than three hours before tipoff, dozens of George Mason fans were milling around outside in yellow shirts, green caps, “Go Mason” signs, and even the occasional three-cornered black hat that’s something the original Mr. Mason might have worn in the 1700s when he was writing the Virginia Declaration of Rights — upon which the Constitution’s Bill of Rights was based.

Campbell helped get the local fans into the game, waving his arms toward them as he ran back on defense after making each of his first three 3-point attempts. Wichita State’s first six possessions went this way, meanwhile: two missed field goals, three turnovers and a blocked shot.

That the Shockers and Patriots were playing at all at this stage was a bit of vindication for mid-major schools. The Shockers reached the regional semifinals by beating the Big East’s Seton Hall and the SEC’s Tennessee, which was seeded second.

There were questions on Selection Sunday about whether the MVC deserved all four of its NCAA invitations and whether the Patriots belonged as an at-large choice from the Colonial Athletic Association, in part because the team lost two of its last four games.

That they belong is no longer in doubt. But how far can they go?

“Anything,” George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said, “is possible.”

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