9:41 p.m. That’s the game. GW 71, Binghamton 57. Wilmore finishes with 16, Hollis with 15. More to come after the press conference and in tomorrow’s paper.
9:36 p.m. From a statistical perspective, the Colonials have not overwhelmed tonight. However, this game was never really in doubt. The fans are starting to leave, and GW is up 17 with two minutes to play.
9:31 p.m. Hollis back in after Opoku fouls out. Opoku’s line: 7 points, 2 rebounds, 5 fouls.
9:26 p.m. Wilmore makes his fourth trey of the game and GW is up 68-46. Aaron Ware came in for Hollis a few minutes ago, and it looks like Hollis is finished for the evening.
9:18 p.m. Tony Taylor just made his first acrobatic basket — after attempting them a number of times. Taylor drove on a fast break, pump faked a layup, brought the ball down and around the basket, putting off the glass from the other side of the hoop. The student section just broke into a “Tony Taylor” chant. GW 63, BU, 44 7:27 left.
9:11 p.m. Five straight BU points has cut the lead to 15. Coach Broadus is really insisting on the full-court press, but GW hasn’t had much trouble with it yet. The Bearcats are also fouling quite hard — so far they’ve picked up two intentional fouls.
9:07 p.m. Wilmore is now leading GW with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. BU just started a full-court press but GW was able to handle it well — the COlonials are up 56-36.
8:57 p.m. BU’s Emmanuel Mayben just picked up a technical foul for making contact with Xavier Alexander after the whistle. The fan proceeded to give him a taste of the Smith Center’s stylings, chanting “A-10 reject.” Mayben is a UMASS transfer.
8:54 p.m. By the way, announced attendance tonight is 2,650. GW up 44-28, 16 minutes left.
8:52 p.m. Tony Taylor looks like he’s getting tired on defense — not what you want to see from your energy guy. He did just take a nice charge, though.
8:49: p.m. GW up 42-26 now on a Diggs layup and Hollis dunk. Bearcats’ guard D.J. Rivera just picked up his third foul 2 minutes into the half — but if the Colonials keep game’s tone going, it won’t matter.
8:33 p.m. It’s GW 38, Binghamton 26 after a half of play. Taylor and Hollis lead GW with seven points each and the Colonials are playing alright offensively, but they are getting dominated on the boards. Binghamton has 28 rebounds to GW’s 10.
The crowd is fairly sizable — at least half of the upper student section is full — and GW has had a few big plays to get the fans involved. This game should be GW’s if they can handle the Bearcats on the glass and keep the ball safe.
8:22 p.m. Tony Taylor hits a pair of free throws to give GW a 12-point lead with 2:35 left in the half. The box score says GW has just two turnovers, but that seems a little bit low from our perspective.
8:13 p.m. GW’s been going to its patented fast break offense in the first half, but they need some work on the long passes. They’ve had three errant launches kill the possession so far. GW now up 27-21.
8:08 p.m. Binghamton has switched to a 2-3 zone and is attacking when GW guards get the ball near the sideline near half court. Hobbs just had to call a timeout to bail out Alexander.
8:02 p.m. Starters plus Travis King on the floor for GW now, as Taylor commits his second foul. The Bearcats keep getting open on the right wing and in the left corner. They’ve hit three of four wide open shots. GW 23-18.
7:57 p.m. GW up 18-15 now, with 11 minutes left in the half. Binghamton just had an impressive alley-oop — it looked like Noel Wilmore was out of place on defense there.
7:54 p.m. Overall, GW is playing pretty well an is 7-for-11 from the floor. They’ve grabbed only 3 defensive rebounds, whereas Binghamton has at least 6 offensive boards, though.
7:51 p.m. Hermann Opoku checked into the game for Diggs and has two points on a put back. Binghamton is playing a man-to-man defense, and the Bearcats’ 6-foot-11, 290-pound center Jaan Montgomery has been particularly physical. GW up 17-9, 12:30 left.
7:45 p.m. Aaron Ware’s smooth baseline drive put GW up 11-2, but the Bearcats have hit back to back baskets to cut the lead to 4.
7:40 p.m. Binghamton has started out running a 3/4 press and it’s taking GW a while to get down the court. They are driving to the hoop on every possession, though, and lead 6-2.
Witherspoon just made a behind the back pass to Hollis on a fastbreak, which Hollis dunked and let out a defiant scream. That could be big a big boost to his confidence.
7:32 p.m. After a little National Anthem malfunction, (the singer messed up the words BIG TIME — but we give him credit for keeping the song moving along and having a nice voice) we’ve got GW’s starting lineup: Rob Diggs, Wynton Witherspoon, Damian Hollis, Xavier Alexander, and Tony Taylor.
The student section has spilled into the second level.
Fifteen minutes till tip off here at the GW men’s basketball team’s home opener against Binghamton, and fans have begun filling the Smith Center. Tonight’s game has probably been circled on the Colonials’ calendar for some time, as GW’s loss to the Bearcats last season was one of the biggest signs that last year’s team was in trouble.
While the Colonials seem to be deeper and more talented on paper than the Bearcats (save for maybe a pair of skilled Bearcat guards), that’s probably what was said about last year’s game. This article, though, makes it seem like Binghamton head coach and former GW assistant Kevin Broadus doesn’t have much confidence coming into the game.
The real news tonight, however, is that ESPN personality Tony Kornheiser is in the Smith Center. Kornheiser is a Binghamton alumnus, and his daughter recently graduated from GW. It’s tough to say which is cooler –– Kornheiser in the Smith Center or rapper Coolio’s appearance the Colonials’ last game in Boston. We’ll give the edge to Kornheiser.
