BOSTON- At the postgame press conference after GW’s 72-59 victory over Boston University, head coach Mike Lonergan sat flanked by senior forward Isaiah Armwood and freshman guard Joe McDonald.
To his left was the rookie point guard who will be trusted with the Colonials’ offense in years to come, a player who gave fans a glimpse of the role he will grow into Saturday. To Lonergan’s right, his senior big man who slammed back eight blocks against the Terriers, irreparably disrupting the flow of their offense.
The postgame remarks, much like the 40 minutes of basketball that preceded them, were a glimpse into the rebuilding Colonial roster.
“I thought this was a really, really important game,” head coach Mike Lonergan said. “There’s no such thing as a ‘must-win’ game – [Washington Redskins head coach] Mike Shanahan got in trouble for saying that a couple of weeks ago – but I thought that was an important game for us.”
The team’s offense clicked against the Terriers, the Colonials exiting the game with a 52.2 shooting percentage and going 20-for-22 at the line, a sign of the program settling more into its plays and rhythm. McDonald lead all scorers with his 21 points, while freshman forward Patricio Garino and senior guard Bryan Bynes were next for GW, with nine apiece. Lonergan pointed out the importance of Bynes’ performance coming off a 1-for-9 game against Youngstown State, adding that the senior guard logged extra time in the gym, practicing shooting, last week.
50 of GW’s 72 points came from its six new recruits, a heartening statistic for a coach that plans to bet so much on his incoming players this season. Still, Lonergan said, despite a boost in confidence for those players, the Colonials need more production out of their senior members.
“Our freshmen are freshmen, but they’re good. But the key to our season, I’ve always said, are the upperclassmen. We’ve got to do a better job getting a lot more out of them,” Lonergan said.
It was McDonald who appeared to best settle into GW’s game plan Saturday, adding 21 points to the board, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. His ability to direct the team was clearer than ever before, increasing his communication and direction on the floor.
McDonald credited the growth in his comfort level to the support he receives from his coaches, saying they were responsible for his increased confidence heading into Saturday’s game. For Lonergan, it was the point guard he’s expected to see all along after freshman jitters in GW’s first few contests, especially watching McDonald contain BU freshman guard Maurice Watson, Jr., a fellow PARADE All-America selection.
“Joe’s not the guy I expect to get 21 points from every game, but everybody was sort of questioning him,” Lonergan said. “It’s a tough position to play, he’s a freshman. I have high expectations for him, I’ve never worried about him, never wavered in my confidence in him. He’s a really good player. He’s a big recruit for us.”
It wasn’t a perfect game for the Colonials. After a lights-out first half that saw GW enter the break with a 14-point advantage, BU retook the court with a revamped press defense, one that rattled a young Colonial lineup.
GW had 13 turnovers on the second half, 18 total, with BU nabbing four steals and using its newfound defensive edge to best the Colonials on points off turnovers 14-5. After a few struggles to penetrate the Terrier zone on the first, GW found itself working to hold onto its confidence, and take the momentum back from BU, in the second.
“I was trying not to go crazy and scream, because it was almost comical. Some of the turnovers were really, really bad. So I just tried to put four guard out there, and that wasn’t working,” Lonergan said. “We just weren’t making cuts hard. We were just kind of walking to the corner, throwing it in and being casual, and [BU’s] down, they’re fighting for their lives.”
The game could have more easily been in the Colonials’ hands, too, had the rebounding battle been more uneven. GW bested BU on the boards, but only by five, and though the Colonials boasted a 40-35 overall advantage, including a 34-18 mark in defensive rebounds, the Terriers won a 17-6 victory on the offensive glass.
Armwood paced GW with 12 rebounds, but the team as a whole needs to step it up on the boards, Lonergan said. Many times, possession went to BU because the Colonials failed to box out, a lapse that Lonergan finds inexcusable.
“Rebounds are effort, and we have to get some of our guys focused on that part of the game,” Lonergan said. “[Junior forward] Nemanja [Mikic] having three today is huge for us. Last week, he was the only guy on our team that did not get a rebound.”
Rebound battle aside, despite facing what Lonergan called “a heck of a backcourt,” GW was able to mostly limit BU’s shooting Saturday afternoon. The Colonials held their opponent to 32.4 percent shooting on the game, and kept the Terriers to 7-for-20 from beyond the arc.
The defensive gamechanger, Lonergan said, were the eight blocks from Armwood, a career-high for the senior who was easily the biggest man on the court against a small Terrier squad.
“I knew that their big man wasn’t an actual big man,” Armwood said. “So I’d be able to help out on defense a lot, because they’d be trying to get it in the lane and penetrate, because they’re so little.”
The Colonials managed to pick up their first victory of the season and their first road win of the year in one fell swoop, leaving Boston with an extra edge of confidence. It’s a boost that will need to play to GW’s advantage as it continues its road swing at Notre Dame Wednesday, Lonergan said.
“It’s a huge win. I was trying to be really loose today, because looking at our schedule, we lost a tough one to Youngstown State, a good team. I’m not embarrassed by that loss,” Lonergan said. “But with Notre Dame coming up and a young team, we have to get some of these wins. You don’t want to lose confidence.”
