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| Darian Bryant (#15) drives to the basket in the 2nd half |
From our friends at GW Athletics...
GW Men's Hoops Posts Record-Tying Debut in Win Over Grambling State
Colonials Match Largest Victory Against Division I Opponent in 92-40 Rout
GW men's basketball matched its largest-ever victory against an NCAA Division I opponent with a 92-40 rout of Grambling State in its season opener on Friday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.
The Colonials' 52-point margin of victory marked its largest since a 109-57 romp over Duquesne in January 1999, and was just five points shy of the program record of 57 set against West Virginia Tech (106-49) in the 1973-74 season opener.
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| Patricio Garino (game-high 21 points) was all smiles |
Prior to tipoff, GW unveiled a new banner recognizing its 2014 NCAA Tournament appearance. Then four seconds after tipoff, junior Patricio Garino found classmate Kethan Savage for an alley-oop dunk that ignited the crowd of 3,446 and carried the Colonials to a record-tying triumph.
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| Kethan Savage (#11) scored 12 points |
Garino finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 2-of-3 behind the arc, and also added a game-best four steals. Junior Kevin Larsen added 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Savage provided 12 points and a game-high five assists in his first start since last Jan. 18. Four Colonials chipped in eight points, including junior Joe McDonald's eight markers and eight rebounds, and freshman Yuta Watanabe's eight points and seven boards.
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| Kevin Larsen (#21) led GW with 9 rebounds |
GW (1-0) shot 57 percent (17-30) in the first half, building a double-digit advantage before the under-12 media timeout en route to a 47-15 advantage by halftime. Garino had 16 points and three steals over the opening 20 minutes, helping the Colonials turn 10 Tigers' miscues into a 12-0 edge in points off turnovers.
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| Paul Jorgensen (#3) scored 8 points |
The margin never dipped below 30 points in the second half as GW continued its torrid shooting to the tune of 54.5 percent (18-33) in the second half to finish at 55.6 percent (35-63) for the game. The Colonials' reserves entered with a 43-point cushion midway through the period and extended the lead to its peak at 89-37 on a Paul Jorgensen layup with less than two minutes to play before a Watanabe three produced the 92-40 final margin.
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| Coach Mike Lonergan guides GW to another win |
GW owned a 49-24 rebounding advantage which led to a 27-10 edge in second-chance points and 50-18 margin in points in the paint. The Colonials also turned 17 takeaways into 24 points and had a 22-4 advantage in fast-break points.
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| Joe McDonald (#22) added 8 points & 8 rebounds |
Richard Freeman led Grambling State (0-1) with 13 points, followed by 11 from A'Torri Shine.
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| Yuta Watanabe (#12) tallied 8 points with 7 rebounds |
GW will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday to face Rutgers on Sunday night at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. GW Alumni will host a pre-game reception at the Rutgers Zone beginning at 5 p.m.
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| It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time! |
Click here for last night's box score.
