KINGSTON, R.I. – With two-thirds of the GW men’s basketball team either freshmen or sophomores, it is perhaps no surprise that the younger members of the roster have assumed starring roles in this season’s narrative.
And though the Colonials’ comeback bid ultimately fell short in Saturday’s 72-66 loss at Rhode Island, it was a trio of underclassmen that drove a second-half GW turnaround that took them from down 16 to threatening one of the Atlantic 10’s best teams.
The triumvirate of sophomore Tony Taylor and freshmen Lasan Kromah and Dwayne Smith scored 29 of GW’s (12-8, 2-5 A-10) 40 points after halftime and combined to put 45 points on the board over the course of the game.
Taylor set a new career high with 22 points and led the Colonials in scoring for the third straight game. Eighteen of those points came in the second half, including seven straight points down the stretch.
“I thought he, at times, kind of single-handedly kept us in the game,” head coach Karl Hobbs said of Taylor. “He’s playing terrific basketball and he’s playing a lot of minutes. The things that he’s doing, everything is governed by him. He’s the first guy to pick up the ball, the first guy pushing it up. And right now he’s just doing a great job. “
Kromah and Smith scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the game and combined to make 11 of 16 shots from the floor. The first-year duo scored the Colonials’ last six points of the first half, while Smith scored on consecutive possessions to keep his team within four points with five minutes left in the game.
Hobbs said such strong play from such inexperienced players has made it hard at times to keep his expectations in check.
“The difficulty for me is being patient,” he said. “I have to keep reminding myself, oh, that’s right, I forgot, Dwayne Smith’s a freshman. Oh that’s right, I keep forgetting, Lasan’s a freshman.”
The game was Smith’s fourth double-digit scoring effort this year and the ninth such effort from Kromah, who has led GW in scoring six times and is second on the team in points this season.
“They’re very poised,” Taylor said of Kromah and Smith. “They hustle a lot, so that contributes to them getting a lot of easy baskets. They play great defense and they’re just in the right spots at the right time.”
The lively performances are a change Hobbs has enjoyed seeing.
“The one thing that they’re doing is they’re playing with a great deal of effort and energy,” Hobbs said. “They’re trying to please and that’s very rewarding. I couldn’t stand up here and say that about last year’s team all the time.”
