From our friends at GW Athletics...
Men's Basketball Downs Duquesne in 3 OT, 98-93
Bamisile goes for career-high 30 with seven rebounds
It was Senior Night at GW on Wednesday night and an all-senior lineup of Theofanis Stamoulis, Bryan Knapp, Amir Harris, Ricky Lindo Jr. and Miles Gally were on the court for the opening tip. The move paid immediate dividends when Harris found Gally open at the top of the key and the senior walk-on buried the first 3-pointer of his career to put the Buff and Blue up 5-0 early, and the bucket portended a game of thrills from there. More than two-and-a-half hours and 55 minutes of basketball later, GW found its way to a 98-93 3OT win. To get there, it was anything but ordinary.
GW held a 54-48 lead approaching the under 4:00 media timeout in the second half, but the Dukes rallied and held a two-point lead of their own with :10 ticks on the clock. A pair of Joe Bamisile free throws sent the game to overtime, but the excitement didn't soon end.
After a James Bishop triple gave George Washington a three-point lead with 12 seconds to play in the extra session, it was Duquesne's turn to force more basketball. Davis Larson did exactly that with a trifecta of his own to force the second extra stanza.
The clubs went to double OT and with Duquesne seemingly in control, leading 79-74 with 2:03 to go, GW clawed back when a pair of Brendan Adams freebies knotted the game at 81 with :15 to play. Duquesne couldn't notch the game-winner on their possession and to a third overtime Smith Center went.
More timely free throws from Bishop gave GW a 92-87 lead with just over a minute left in the third bonus frame, and at last, one of the teams was able to seal the deal. More than 150 minutes after Gally's early salvo, victory was finally George Washington's in the win that took substantial endurance.
In an oddity befitting of a triple-overtime game, four GW starters (Gally, Harris, Knapp, Stamoulis) played less than three minutes, and five GW reserves played more than 35 minutes with three (Bamisile, Bishop and Brayon Freeman) playing 40+. The Senior Night rotation and three OTs also allowed for a whopping 81 points coming from GW's bench.
In Bamisile's career-high 49:07 of play, the sophomore dropped a career-high 30 minutes on 11-of-19 shooting.
Bishop finished with 23 points, including 19 in the extra sessions, on 6-of-12 shots (3-of-5 3pt. FG) and made all eight free throws in an efficient final 35 minutes.
Despite GW romping to an easy win in Pittsburgh in the first matchup of the season two weeks ago, the Dukes made the home team earn it for 55 minutes this time around. Jackie Johnson III matched Bamisile with 30 of his own, while Primo Spears netted 25.
Lindo Jr. enjoyed a special night with a double-double performance, registering 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Hunter Dean also double-doubled with 11 points and 11 boards.
Gally also grabbed a rebound in the contest, as did Stamoulis and Knapp, while Harris closed the journey of his home career with two points, a board and a dime.
GW wraps the regular season Saturday at 2 p.m. on Fordham, live on ESPN+ and on SNY in the New York area. At 8-8 in A-10 play, GW can now secure the 7-seed in next week's conference tournament in D.C. with a win against the Rams.
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