The men’s basketball team got its New Year’s Eve clock watching started a little bit early Friday, topping Holy Cross on the strength of a David Pellom free throw with under a minute to play, breaking a tie and giving the Colonials the 58-57 victory.

GW (5-6) secured the victory with a defensive stop that followed Pellom’s free throw, forcing Crusader guard Andrew Beinert to fire a contested three-pointer with five seconds left at the end of a Holy Cross possession that didn’t see the ball cross the three-point line.

Sophomore Dwayne Smith, who has been a force for the Colonials on offense after getting off to a slow start this season, led the Colonials with 16 points. Freshman Nemanja Mikic scored all 12 of his points on four baskets from behind the three-point line. Pellom, a sophomore forward, had 10 points and eight rebounds in the victory.

The Colonials struggled to put any distance between themselves and the now 1-11 Crusaders over the course of the game, fighting through 13 ties and seven lead changes over the course of the game. Holy Cross did a significant chunk of its damage from the free throw line, where it shot almost 73 percent. GW’s defense limited the Crusaders’ scoring ability from the floor, limiting Holy Cross to just 37 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc.

GW once again struggled from the free throw line, shooting 44.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Colonials haven’t shot better than 60 percent from the line since their Dec. 8 win over Towson.

The victory closes out 2010 for GW. The Colonials will take the court for their first game of 2011 Sunday on the road at Howard, with tip-off set for 4 p.m.