Three weeks isn’t much time, but since the Colonials’ conference-opening loss to La Salle, so much has changed.
GW (16-3, 4-1) will be without its biggest playmaker – Kethan Savage – and La Salle (11-8, 3-2) has proven it can keep up with the conference’s best.
“They didn’t do what they were supposed to do coming off the Sweet Sixteen, then they kind of turned it around,” head coach Mike Lonergan said.
To grab revenge on their home court and continue a four-game winning streak, the Colonials will need to put the memories of the loss behind them and keep the Explorers’ guards in front of them this time around.
In the first matchup, La Salle’s quick-footed guards torched GW for a combined 45 points. Sam Mills led the way with 17 points, draining buckets from beyond the arc and slashing through every defensive combination that the Colonials threw at him.
The loss of Savage could be glaring against the Explorers’ backcourt. The sophomore was the fastest GW guard and the best option on defense to keep up with La Salle’s four-guard lineup.
“We have no one on our team really that plays like Kethan, so we’re just gonna have to make up for his rebounds and some of the things he does as a team,” Lonergan said. “But that’s one good thing about our team, we really are a team and we’re unselfish.”
Sophomore Joe McDonald will need to answer back with some similar play from Saturday’s win over George Mason, in which he scored 14 second-half points. Last time out, GW shot only 38 percent from the field against the Explorers.
Fortunately, McDonald will have help from GW’s best player as of late: sophomore Patricio Garino. The forward and fast-break specialist scored 15 points off the bench in the last meeting with La Salle, and hasn’t looked back since. To get some easy buckets, GW will need his energy, aggressiveness and quick hands.
GW sorely missed sophomore Kevin Larsen’s contributions in the 76-72 loss in Philadelphia three weeks ago. The big man was practically nonexistent because of foul trouble, scoring nine points on 3-10 shooting. Since then, though, Larsen has been on a tear, finding an aggressive side to his game that fans had yet to see.
Against Mason, Larsen scored 14 points, running the floor, driving the lane for two-handed slams and carrying the offense for much of the first half.
Without Savage, Larsen said he’ll “probably get more touches in the paint and gotta finish. Then just be more enforcers on the court, just be aggressive, post up deep and then we play well.”
La Salle sits in the middle of the Atlantic 10 standings, with both of their conference losses coming against teams that GW has beaten – St. Bonaventure and VCU. The Explorers’ most recent loss to La Salle was a double-overtime thriller that the Rams stole 97-89.
The Explorers don’t stand out statistically as a team, but individually, they have three players – Tyrone Garland, Tyreek Duren and Jerrell Wright – scoring in double figures. Garland leads the way with 14.8 points per game, while Duren ranks second in the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio. Anchoring the frontcourt is Steve Zack, who leads the conference in rebounding at 9.7 per game.
Bottom line: In the first meeting, GW played one of its worst games of the season, yet still found itself competing for the win. Had it not been for a last-second charge call on McDonald, the Colonials could be undefeated in A-10 play right now. Unless La Salle’s backcourt catches fire like it did last time, GW’s homecourt advantage should give them the edge.
Sean Hurd contributed to this report.
