The men’s basketball team got its 2011 off to a strong start Sunday, holding Howard to just 14 second half points en route to a 85-50 road victory over the Bison.

Senior center Joeseph Katuka scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both team highs, in the victory, and freshman Nemanja Mikic hit five of his eight three-point attempts, good for 12 points on the afternoon. Sophomore Dwayne Smith and junior Tony Taylor also scored in double figures, with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The win is GW’s fifth in its last sixth games, with the only loss in that stretch coming on the road against Alabama-Birmingham. The 14 points allowed by the Colonials (7-6) is the fewest allowed by GW in any half of basketball this season. It was also a return to form for a Colonials team that had played well defensively for much of the season but had struggled a bit of late, allowing 79, 80 and 79 points in consecutive games against Oregon State, East Carolina and UAB.

GW, now over .500 for the first time since opening the season 2-1, will open its Atlantic 10 schedule next week with a home game against La Salle. Tip-off at the Smith Center is set for 7 p.m.