Nothing about this game was typical.
The GW men’s basketball team played the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore smack dab between two high-profile marquee games. The Colonials had only one day of preparation, after recovering from its down-to-the-wire win over Virginia Tech two days earlier. Through their morning-after eyes, the squad was looking westward to Saturday’s game against the University of Southern California in California and the Hawks figured to be a non-factor.
The circumstances led the Colonials to two somewhat regular happenings: a slow start before an eventual 79-56 GW win at Smith Center over a much weaker opponent and at least one aspect Coach Karl Hobbs found wrong with the play of his team.
This time, it was the slow start that concerned Hobbs.
“I wanted them to be conservative with their energy a bit because we exerted a lot of energy against Virginia Tech,” Hobbs said. “In the second half, I told them to forget about energy and play the way we play.”
The “way we play” has changed throughout the duration of this young season but in the team’s sixth win of the year, it was a balanced scoring onslaught with a dash of rebounding that knocked the Hawks (1-4) off kilter.
Youth and new faces trumped a young Eastern Shore team. Sophomore Rob Diggs had 16 points and seven rebounds and blocks. Diggs only scored four points in the first half but his ibuprofen proved to be his halftime magic.
The Maryland native had a root canal and missed practice Monday because of an injury he incurred during the Providence game Nov. 26. He said he had a stick inserted behind his teeth that was bothering him throughout the first 20 minutes.
Hobbs said after Diggs forgot about his oral irritation, his play was “marvelous.”
“I told him that he had to step it up because we need him to play harder than he’s been playing,” Hobbs said. “And he’s doing that.”
For one of the first times this season, Diggs got some reinforcement from his fellow frontcourt mates. Senior Regis Koundjia had 13 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes while freshman Damian Hollis registered eight points in 14 minutes. Hobbs thinks Hollis feels more at home with GW’s play.
“He was relaxed when he got the basketball, and more aggressive in terms of attacking,” Hobbs said.
Diggs said he felt the help up front.
“Dokun (Akingbade) is giving everything he’s got,” Diggs said. “Damian is starting to step up, the guards are rebounding well and stopping the other team’s guards from getting the ball to their big men.”
Junior Maureece Rice led GW with 20 points, including four three-pointers, and five rebounds. His ball handling and leadership, although quiet, were enough to keep the backcourt active through Carl Elliott’s early struggles. Elliott, a senior guard, missed his first four shots but quickly bounced back, getting 13 points.
The lone lowlight came early on, when the Colonials allowed UMES to get out to leads as large as six points.
Against USC Saturday at 2 p.m., Hobbs said if GW gets down, it might be tough to get up. How will he prevent that? Simple.
Hobbs said, “Don’t get in a hole early.”
