George Washington 90, St. Bonaventure 62
As George Washington inevitably looks to rebuild next season, it may want to rethink the start times for home games at Smith Center.
With tip-off pushed back ninety minutes to 9 p.m. to accommodate a national television slot, the Colonials were in primetime form from the moment the ball left the official’s hand on Thursday, blowing by St. Bonaventure, 90-62, with a combination of crisp outside shooting and relentless effort in transition hardly befitting a team mired on the bottom of the Atlantic 10.
“I told our guys, [George Washington] has been snake-bitten,” said Bonnies head coach Mark Schmidt. “Maybe this puts it together for them.”
Among the Colonials’ remarkable stack of statistics in the final box score from their biggest victory of the season and highest scoring game in nearly three years: a season-best 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from 3-point range and season-highs in assists (23) and steals (15).
Rob Diggs, who was held to six points last weekend at Charlotte, gave the meager 1,632 in attendance a rare chance to smile for 40 minutes, going off for a season-high 26 points, one of five GW players to score in double figures. Joseph Katuka also matched his career-high with 13 points.
Players and coaches usually avoid trying to talk about standings, but the Colonials (8-15, 2-9 A-10) still have plenty of work to do if they are to overcome the one and a half games that separate them from the Bonnies (13-12, 4-8) and a potential berth in the conference tournament.
“It’s in the front of my mind,” said Diggs who poured in 17 first-half points, making his first five shots from the field. “I’m just trying to get us there.”
The 6-foot-8 senior forward also took his surprising perimeter game to a new level. Having come into the night averaging slightly less than one 3-point attempt per conference game after not attempting a single shot from behind the arc in the first 11 games of the season, Diggs hit two in a row from long distance. He scored 13 of the Colonials’ first 17 points, the last three on an old-fashioned 3-point play for a 17-5 lead with less than five minutes gone.
Following a Chris Matthews jumper for the Bonnies, GW reeled off an 8-0 run that included two more 3-pointers, this time from Noel Wilmore.
Damian Hollis (12 points) and Travis King (12 points) also got into the act – King’s three game the Colonials their biggest lead of the half, 39-16 – and GW went into the break ahead, 47-28, having hit 6-of-7 (86 percent) shots from beyond the arc and 19-of-27 (70 percent) overall.
“There are times when you feel you are deserving of a win, and they don’t necessarily come,” said Colonials head coach Karl Hobbs. “The thing I’m most happy about for these guys is they were deserving of a win, and they got it tonight.”
