The Minutemen spent the final three minutes of Sunday’s game against George Mason averting disaster. There was a barrage of Patriots offensive rebounds, two near-fatal UMass turnovers and a potential third turnover that was barely avoided.

But UMass made two crucial plays to avert a potential crisis, instead walking off the Patriots Center court the owners of a 66-62 victory and a two-game winning streak.

“We once again are fortunate to come away with a win,” Minutemen coach Derek Kellogg said. “We tried to figure out different ways to let them back in down the stretch.”

As UMass clung to a 62-61 lead, center Cady Lalanne missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity. But Minutemen guard Trey Davis chased down a loose rebound into the corner and made two free throws after the Patriots fouled him with nine seconds left

Kellogg elected to foul George Mason forward Jalen Jenkins instead of risking the possibility of a tying 3-pointer. Jenkins made his first free throw but missed his second with 3.9 seconds left and UMass guard Derrick Gordon pulled in a rebound to seal the victory.

“It did seem like a lot of things started going (George Mason’s) way pretty quickly,” Kellogg said. “We were fortunate that Derrick Gordon came up with that last defensive rebound and put them away.”

UMass led 58-50 with three minutes and 30 seconds remaining, but Jenkins hit a layup and Davis missed a 3-pointer on next possession. Then, things unraveled.

George Mason center Shevon Thompson (12 points, 16 rebounds) hauled in an offensive rebound, drew a foul and made two free throws to make it 58-54. Lalanne answered on the other end, but UMass again allowed an offensive rebound and Jenkins made it 60-55 with a free throw.

Davis turned the ball over on a tentative pass at halfcourt which led to two more Patriots free throws with a minute left. Again, George Mason missed the second free throw and again the Minutemen allowed an offensive rebound, this time to Isaiah Jackson who drew a foul and hit two free throws to make it 60-58 with 55 seconds remaining.

UMass guard Jabarie Hinds drew a foul and sank two free throws on the next possession, but Gordon fouled Patriots guard Patrick Holloway on a jump shot on the next defensive play. Holloway made the first, missed the second and, once again, George Mason corralled an offensive rebound. The sequence ended with Holloway making two more free throws.

The Minutemen held only a 62-61 lead with 23 seconds remaining.

And somehow, the lead came even closer to slipping away.

UMass inbounded the ball to Davis on the ensuing possession but Davis was immediately trapped in the corner. After nearly traveling, the Patriots and one of the referees, who blew the play dead and signaled for a jump ball, thought George Mason was getting the ball back.

But the official closest to the Minutemen bench awarded a timeout to a frantic UMass bench, preserving the possession. Davis thought he was fouled on the play.

“Actually he did, the dude did foul me in the corner,” Davis said. “He was telling me the dude was going to foul me and then coach called a timeout.”

Off the timeout, UMass inbounded in to Lalanne, who skied for the ball. But he brought the ball down to his waist and was stripped by George Mason guard Corey Edwards. The play re-set, and Edwards drove to the paint hoping to draw the foul.

But Lalanne held his ground as Edwards crashed into his chest as he blocked the shot and pulled in the loose ball. UMass escaped.

“There were a lot of plays that I thought were big for us to make and there were quite a few miscues coming down the stretch,” Kellogg said. “We’ll have to try to rectify some of those things because we’re going to be in a ton of games like this in conference play.”

Davis led UMass with 14 points. He scored 12 of those in the first half on four 3-pointers. Lalanne added 10 points a team-high 14 rebounds, while Jabarie Hinds chipped in 11.

Thompson led George Mason in scoring. Holloway and Edwards each added 11 points.

It was UMass’ second straight road conference victory, following a 71-65 victory over La Salle Wednesday. As league play ramps up, Kellogg said UMass needs more performances like the last two.

“That’s what we’re looking for,” he said. “We’ve got some tough teams coming in … we’re going to have to come and play. We’re going to have to play and be tough and try and get some wins.”

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.