The wheels are starting to fall off on upstart George Washington's season, as the Colonials coughed up a late lead to 18th ranked St. Louis... ultimately losing 66-58 before a home crowd of 3,258. The loss dropped GW (12-15, 6-8 A-10) into a three-way tie for 11th place in the A-10, with just two games remaining.
For the second time in four weeks, the Colonials hosted a nationally ranked opponent (GW lost to #14 Butler 59-56 back on February 9th) and as before, gave the favored visitors all they could handle. But after jumping out to a 48-45 lead with just over seven minutes remaining, GW allowed the Billikens to close out the game with a 21-10 run for the first win at Charles E. Smith Center in five tries.
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| GW's 1-3-1 zone gave St. Louis fits in the 2nd half |
St. Louis hit an impressive 21 of their last 24 free throw attempts; while the Colonials continued to throw darts at their familiar home rims. GW shot seven for 13 (53.3%) including two front end misses by seniors Isaiah Armwood and Dwayne Smith in the last three and a half minutes. The Colonials also missed a number of short layups and put backs, most of which could have gotten them right back into the game. Sound familiar?
On the bright side, freshman Kevin Larsen continued to excel, scoring a team-high 14 points on 7-14 shooting in just 28 minutes. Seniors Lasan Kromah (12) and Smith (10) also scored in double figures... going to the hole with great success in the second half. Armwood continued to fill up the stat sheet with a team-high 10 rebounds and five blocks, but shot poorly from the field (2-9) finishing with just five points. Patricio Garino set a GW rookie record for most steals in a season. Garino had four swipes yesterday, raising his total to 62 on the year. Carl Elliott held the old record of 60 in the 2003-04 campaign. Congratulations Patricio!
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| Lasan Kromah (20) talks with coach Mike Lonergan |
The Billikens won their 11th straight game, improving their record to 23-5, 12-2 in conference. The A-10 leaders were paced by junior forward Dwayne Evans' game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. GW still has a chance to make the 12-team conference tournament, but needs at least one win in their final two games (Wednesday at LaSalle and Saturday at home vs. Dayton.) Saturday's matchup with Dayton will be preceded by a Senior Day celebration honoring Bryan Bynes and Smith.
Click here for yesterday's box score.
