Web Update
Saturday, Dec. 29, 10:24 p.m.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Dec. 29 — With three and a half minutes remaining in the GW men’s basketball team’s 93-57 loss to the University of Alabama Saturday night, Crimson Tide junior Mykal Riley threw down a fearsome break-away dunk, sending the 9,920 people in attendance into a fury.
A few minutes later, GW junior Cheyenne Moore walked to the bench during a timeout shaking his head and looking at the floor.
It was that kind of day for GW (4-6). All the Colonials could do was marvel at their opponents, who made 11 three-point shots and pulled down 52 rebounds, 19 more than GW. Alabama’s athletic motto is “roll tide” – an appropriate chant for the evening’s game. The Crimson Tide (10-3) appeared to find victory with relative ease.
Things were bleak from the start, with GW down by double digits a little more than three minutes into the game. Down by 21 at the half, the Colonials played even with Alabama for the first few minutes of the second period but they were outmatched.
“We just got overwhelmed,” said GW head coach Karl Hobbs. “I thought we came out with good energy. We just couldn’t get enough stops. Physically, we couldn’t match up at all. They continued to make threes. When you make 11 three-pointers, you’re going to win basketball games.”
Hobbs also said his team could not compete inside. Alabama forward Richard Hendrix, a pre-season Southeastern Conference first-team selection, scored his 1,000th point early in the game, finishing with 18 points. Junior Alonzo Gee led the Crimson Tide with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Riley and junior Brandon Hollinger added 15 points apiece.
While the Colonials could not keep up with their opponents, they had some relative success. GW had 11 turnovers, more than six less than its average this season. Junior Rob Diggs led GW with 18 points and had a couple of dominant dunks.
Junior Wynton Witherspoon, playing in front of family members including brother Wesley, had 15 points. Wesley, a senior in high school, has said he is considering playing basketball next year at GW among many other schools.
And senior Maureece Rice had 11 points, returning to the team after being suspended from the Colonials’ previous game for breaking an unspecified team rule.
Hobbs said Rice and junior Cheyenne Moore, who shot 3-for-13 against Alabama, need to make more shots if the Colonials want to win once conference play starts Jan. 10 against Saint Louis University.
“We’re really struggling to score points,” Hobbs said. “We have to fix our defense and our rebounding. And then we have to get guys to consistently score points.”
The Colonials now head into A-10 play with a record under .500 for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. Hobbs would not say what he thought of his team’s record but he said he is not happy with how his team is playing.
Hobbs said, “Right now, I’m a little disappointed that we aren’t playing as well as we could be.”
