9:22 p.m. Witherspoon hits his patented midrange jumper, getting the Colonials over the 50-point hump. But there is no joy in Foggy Bottom: Maryland 76, GW 53. Final.
9:19 p.m. Taylor makes a crazy layup and a WIDE open three. We’re hearing “Jeff Alston” chants from the stands.
9:08 p.m. It needs to be noticed how lazy this building is right now. Even the Terp fans are kinda out of it, and a Verizon Center with just a few thousand (maximum) people in it feels extremely eerie. Add to that a 69-42 Terps lead, and it’s hard to stay awake.
9:05 p.m. With 7:44 left, its MD 65, GW 38. Tony Taylor is 1-of-9 today. I know he was a big scorer in high school, but what we’ve seen of his shot selection this season suggests that for a rookie point guard, he might be overshooting.
9:00 p.m. Xavier Alexander with the free throw. He has fulfilled his quota of one per game. (He’s made one in each game so far this year.)
8:50 p.m. Hermann Opoku gets the inbound pass at halfcourt, and trips over his own feet for a travel. Maryland, on the other hands, is having a real hard time missing three-pointers. GW needs to catch whatever disease they’ve got — the Terps are killing from downtown.
8:48 p.m. Maryland fans beat GW fans in the free-throw shooting contest during a timeout. Looks like the entire school struggles from the line. Maybe it’s something in the water? 58-33 MD.
8:45 p.m. It’s now 56-33 MD. GW is flying around the court — but they appear to lack discipline. They’ve been trying to make plays with their athleticism, but it just seems a little chaotic.
8:40 p.m. Maryland makes a a couple free throws to start the half, while GW’s taking only three-pointers. Gary Williams is employing a tough press again, maybe trying to create a bigger lead in order to get this thing over with.
8:25 p.m. Maryland shoots 50 percent in the first half, GW shoots 32. The Terps were also 7-of-12 from downtown. Kinda lookin like GW having Maryland’s number at the BB&T is a thing of the past — but hey, you never know what this GW team is going to do until it does it.
8:21 p.m. Just one of those days? GW played solid D as the half was winding down, denying shots left and right — until Maryland’s Adrian Bowie sprang free at the last second and drained a three as the buzzer sounded to give the Terps a 45-26 halftime lead.
8:15 p.m. A three from Wilmore and a slicing layup from Ware gives GW a quick five points. Down 15 there’s still a long way to go. Maryland is playing well, but because GW hasn’t been, you get the feeling that if they show up, they could pull much closer.
8:10 p.m. I think Xavier Alexander just missed the hoop on his first free throw. He’s now 4-of-18 from the line on the year. Sending him to the line is starting to seem like essentially forcing a GW turnover.
8:07 p.m. Lee and Taylor are on the floor right now, with Taylor playing the 2 position. He seems outmatched though, and just put a up a shot that was very easily swatted by a Terp defender.
8:02 p.m. Maryland’s lead extended to 30-14. Lee in the game again, and Wilmore has had trouble from beyond the arc. He’s 0-for-2 and the last one was wayyyyy long.
7:59 p.m. Not sure if this is correct, but stat tracker is reading 16 rebounds for GW to 3 for Maryland. There was one exchange where GW got like 5 boards in a row, but still. That seems like too many.
7:55 p.m. GW gets beat at its own game, as the Terps just converted on a smooth fastbreak to go up 25-14. Hobbs calls another timeout, and Maryland employs the full-court press.
7:49 p.m. Interesting lineup for GW right now: Johnny Lee, Opoku, Aaron Ware, Wilmore and Hollis. 20-12 MD.
7:46 p.m. A three by Hollis brings it to 13-7. Tony Taylor just threw up a crazy shot attempt that shows his energy, but also his inexperience. Hobbs had King ready to check in as soon as that ball missed the hoop.
7:42 p.m. Back to back threes for the Terps. Now 10-4 Maryland, and they’ve got the first momentum. Gary Williams is throwing on a full-court press out of a Hobbs timeout.
7:40 p.m. Sloppy play for both teams to start, and its 4-4 after three minutes. GW seems disorganized on defense so far. Hobbs has already pulled a big subsitiution, throwing Noel Wilmore, Wynton Witherspoon, and Diggs all in at the same time.
Just about to tip-off here at the Verizon Center for the BB&T Classic. GW is starting Tony Taylor, Travis King, Xavier Alexander, Damian Hollis, and Hermann Opoku. Not sure why Rob Diggs isn’t starting.
Maryland fans outnumber GW’s crew pretty good, but there are some Colonials in the stands.
GW wins the tip. Updates coming.
