The Colonials fell behind on the road for the second straight game Wednesday night at Dayton, but this time the GW men’s basketball team couldn’t muster a comeback as the Flyers handed the team its third straight loss. After falling to Rhode Island by just five points last Saturday, GW fell out of the game early and went on to lose 87-68 Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.
Dayton (17-4, 9-1 Atlantic 10) was coming off its first loss in conference play Saturday at Xavier and beat the Colonials (8-13, 2-8 A-10) for the fifth straight meeting, a streak which dates back nearly two years. With the loss, GW remains winless (0-5) away from the Smith Center in A-10 play.
“We played a team that was much better than us,” GW head coach Karl Hobbs said. “In the first half, we had 16 turnovers, so once again we just can’t seem to find a way to take care of the ball.”
Senior Chris Monroe led GW with 21 points and is now 122 points away from becoming GW’s all-time leading scorer. Monroe has been a model of consistency through GW’s struggles over the past two years, leading the Colonials in scoring in 41 of the team’s last 49 games.
“From a scoring standpoint, he’s been great,” Hobbs said of Monroe. “He’s trying to do whatever he can to win. He just really wants to win badly.”
The Colonials also received solid performances from their freshman class, which combined for 39 points and 30 rebounds. Pops Mensah-Bonsu led the way with 10 points and eight rebounds and Mike Hall and Omar Williams added nine points each.
Despite trailing on the scoreboard throughout the game, GW was able to out-rebound Dayton 39 to 33, led by Hall’s nine boards.
“The one thing that we’ve done consistently all year is rebound,” Hobbs said. “I thought we had some really good shots inside that we just didn’t finish off, and I thought we missed too many free throws.”
The Colonials shot just 52 percent (14-for-27) from behind the foul line. Dayton, by comparison, made 30-of-35 free throws.
After 16 first half turnovers, GW trailed at halftime 41-29 and could not mount a rally in the second half. Dayton fed off the support of 12,811 in attendance at the U. Dayton Arena, but Hobbs said he liked the atmosphere.
“It’s a fun place to play, not a difficult place to play,” he said. “It’s a great basketball atmosphere.”
The Colonials return home for a crucial game in the A-10 standings against Richmond (12-9, 6-4 A-10) Sunday at 2 p.m. The Spiders, who beat GW 63-57 in Richmond Jan. 21, head to the Smith Center after a 53-54 loss at Massachusetts Wednesday night.
“We just have to find a way to beat that team,” Hobbs said. “It’s a home game, and it’s a game we have to win.”
