The Colonials assembled a second-half effort in their 83-70 loss to La Salle Saturday reminiscent of the season’s early days, when erasing a double-digit halftime deficit seemed like just another play in the Karl Hobbs handbook.
But since GW’s losing streak began last month, GW hasn’t played with the electricity a comeback requires. The Colonials gave La Salle a scare by scoring a season-high 50 points in the second half. But the Explorers, one game behind GW in the A-10 West standings, manufactured 47 points after the break, ending its own four-game winless streak and extending GW’s to six.
Chris Monroe scored a game-high 22 points at the Tom Gola Arena, with Marquin Chandler and Greg Collucci adding 12 each. Collucci’s points helped GW shrink a 20-point deficit to nine, as he sank four three-pointers in the second half. The skinny guard went four for eight from long range.
Jaason Smith scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds, about six more than his season average.
T.J. Thompson scored just two points in 26 minutes in his third consecutive sub-par performance. The freshman did not make a field goal but created baskets with eight assists. Thompson has steadily declined in his last three games, averaging a little more than three points a game.
Darnell Miller, who did not score against Richmond last week, turned in six minutes before fouling out.
Five Explorers scored in double digits to hold off GW’s late run. Guard Rasheed Quadri, who only scored five points when GW (10-11, 3-7 A-10) played La Salle (9-12, 2-6) last month, led the Explorers with 19 points on 6-for-6 shooting. Center Rasual Butler was limited to 11 points, but grabbed 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double this season.
The Explorers led by as many as 20 points in the first half and took a 36-20 advantage into the break. Twenty turnovers and cold first-half shooting allowed La Salle to get ahead early, as the Colonials sank just seven field goals on 30 percent shooting from the field. First half shooting woes have been the bane of coach Karl Hobbs’s first season.
The Colonials improved their shooting by 20 percent and connected on 16 of 31 shots in the second half. The team has looked tired in second halves lately this season. A reliance on Monroe and Collucci helped GW gain ground against La Salle.
A win against La Salle could have been the boost the Colonials required as they gear up for Temple, which is just behind St. Joseph’s in the A-10 East. The Owls visit D.C. this weekend, looking to do more than just slip past GW, as they did in last season’s finale. Temple guard Lynn Greer scored 10 of his game-high 29 points in overtime for that win.
On Sunday, Temple will likely stretch GW’s losing streak to seven games, its worst since the 1988-89, when under coach John Kuester GW’s season went like this: a 14-game losing streak, a 103-77 win over Massachusetts, followed by a 13-game losing streak. The Colonials finished the year 1-27 in Kuester’s second to last season at GW.
