This post was written by Hatchet sports editors Sean Hurd and Nick Ong.
You know it’s a blowout when six different Colonials score in double figures.
You know it’s a blowout when only one GW starter needed to play more than 20 minutes.
But, most importantly, you know it’s a blowout when athletic director Patrick Nero offered up free hot dogs if GW scored over 100 points.
GW came up just short of the century mark in its 94-50 win against Delaware State Tuesday night, but the Colonials’ bench nearly outscored the entire Hornets team, netting 48 points.
By the end of the first half, 10 different players had scored and by the end of the game, every Colonial had grabbed at least one rebound.
“Some of our bench guys were a little shaky in the first half, but it was nice to be able to play them extended minutes,” Lonergan said. “To be able right now to have Patricio [Garino], Nemanja [Mikic] and John [Kopriva] coming off the bench, that’s really good for us.”
The blowout was sophomore Patricio Garino’s first game on the Smith Center floor this season and the forward looked like he hadn’t lost a beat. Garino went 4-6 from the field, totaling 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 19 minutes of play – reminding the home fans of his explosive ability to run the floor and get to the rim.
“I’m getting close [to 100 percent], but I think – coming back for a home game after two games not playing – I think it feels pretty good,” Garino said. “I didn’t have a good time being on the bench or on the sideline at practice. I totally hated it, but I’m glad to be back and I want to do whatever it takes to make my team better.”
As a whole, the Colonials dominated in every statistical category, putting on their best overall performance of the season to improve to 4-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Six GW players finished scoring in double figures, with senior forward Isaiah Armwood leading all scorers with 17. GW would end the game shooting 60 percent from the field, going 35-58 with 25 assists.
GW also continued their success from behind the three-point line, shooting 58.8 percent on the night – their highest mark this season. Entering the game, Delaware State (1-3) had held opponents to 18.8 percent shooting from long range.
While graduate guard Maurice Creek was once again lights out, going 3-3 from the behind three-point arc, a new Colonial came through as another long-range threat: freshman Nick Griffin. The 6-foot-2 guard, who Lonergan tagged as a “zone buster,” shot a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc Tuesday.
“Coach always talks about ‘Know your role,’ and he always tells me when I have open shots to shoot the ball,” Griffin said. “I’m just glad my teammates were able to find me out there and I was able to knock some shots down.”
Griffin would finish the game as the Colonials’ second-highest scorer and minutes eater, with 14 points and 21 minutes played.
The Colonials took ownership over the paint as well, outscoring the Hornets 44-18 there. Throughout the game, GW was scoring basket after basket down low, driving into the paint at will, and on multiple occasions finding either Armwood or sophomore Kevin Larsen for a crowd-pleasing slam. GW would out-rebound the Hornets by 17, 41-24.
The Colonials held Delaware State to just 19 points in the first half off 28 percent shooting. It wouldn’t get much better for the Hornets, who would finish the game 14 points below their season average of 64.
Lonergan said after the game that he wanted to disrupt the Delaware State offense that likes to “shorten the game, run the clock and run the shot clock down.”
“We wanted to come out and force the tempo, play at out pace,” Lonergan said. “We tried to come after them with man-to-man, then we put our one-three-one on and stretched it out a little, and just got them to play a little faster than they usually do.”
The Colonials are in the best position possible before making the trip to California for the Wooden Legacy Tournament. With an undefeated record and ample time before their opening round matchup against Miami, Lonergan said he is focused on getting his team prepared both mentally and physically for what is sure to be the Colonials’ biggest weekend of 2013.
“I mean, you’d like to not have a break when you’re playing well,” Lonergan said. “But it’s a good time for us to have a break right now and take the trip out there to prepare.”
This post was updated on Nov. 20, 2013 at 12:05 a.m. to reflect the following
Correction appended
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that the last 4-0 start for the Colonials was the 2006-07 season. They actually started 4-0 during 2009-10.
