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| Patricio Garino (#13) led GW with 19 PTS & 5 steals |
From our friends at GW Athletics...
GW Men's Hoops Dissects DePaul in First Half for 81-68 Win
Colonials Trio of Garino, Larsen and McDonald Combine for 55 Points
GW men's basketball closed the first half with a decisive 31-10 run to build a 20-point halftime cushion and cruise to an 81-68 victory over DePaul at the Charles E. Smith Center on Thursday.
The junior trio of Patricio Garino, Kevin Larsen and Joe McDonald combined for 55 points on 22-of-32 shooting to lead GW (6-2) to its third consecutive victory overall and fourth win in as many home games this season while snapping DePaul's (6-2) four-game win streak. The Colonials have won 19 of their last 20 games at the Smith Center.
The junior trio of Patricio Garino, Kevin Larsen and Joe McDonald combined for 55 points on 22-of-32 shooting to lead GW (6-2) to its third consecutive victory overall and fourth win in as many home games this season while snapping DePaul's (6-2) four-game win streak. The Colonials have won 19 of their last 20 games at the Smith Center.
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| Kevin Larsen (#21) added 18 PTS & 8 boards |
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| Joe McDonald (#22) scored 18 PTS with 5 dimes |
The trio helped the Colonials shoot a season-best 57.1 percent from the floor, the highest allowed by the Blue Demons so far this season, and post commanding advantages in points in the paint (54-24), points off turnovers (21-10) and second-chance points (17-6).
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| Nick Griffin (#5) connected on 2 three-pointers |
GW trailed for the first time at home this year - a span of more than 125 minutes of game play - at 8-7 on the first of DePaul's eight 3-pointers 5:11 into the contest. The lead changed hands on the next four possessions with the Blue Demons grabbing a 12-11 edge at the 13:28 mark. It was all Colonials after that.
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| Yuta Watanabe (#12) chipped in with 6 PTS & 5 rebounds |
Larsen threw down a dunk on the next trip to ignite a 14-2 run for GW's first double-digit lead at 25-14. DePaul snapped a four-plus minute scoring drought to make it a nine-point game at 25-16, but McDonald answered with a three to spark a 17-6 spurt that was capped by a Garino steal and layin just before the horn to give GW a 42-22 lead at the intermission.
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| We're gonna win by this much... |
Junior Kethan Savage converted a three-point play to begin the second half to extend the run to 34-10 and push GW ahead 45-22. DePaul got as close as 14 only to have the margin swell to its largest of the night at 74-50 on back-to-back layups from Garino and McDonald with five minutes remaining.
DePaul was led by 22 points from Myke Henry, 16 from Jamee Crockett and 10 from Billy Garrett. That trio combined to make 18-of-32 shots, while the rest of the Blue Demons went 8-of-21 for the field.
The Colonials will complete the home-and-home series with the Blue Demons next season in Chicago, the program's first trip to the Windy City in more than 45 years. However, the two teams could potentially square off again in 12 days at the upcoming Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii.
GW will look for its second victory over a Big Ten opponent this season when it visits Penn State (9-1) on Sunday. Tipoff for the ESPN3 broadcast is set for 12:00 p.m.
Click here for tonight's box score.
