With the game knotted at 56 and regulation time winding down at the Smith Center on Friday night, junior guard Kethan Savage drove hard to the rim but could not find a game-winner.
Down by one with six seconds to play in overtime, he’d try and miss again. That time, though, he was saved by junior guard Joe McDonald, who flew in for a game-winning tip-in to propel GW to a pivotal 65-64 victory over Dayton and ignite court-storming pandemonium from the Colonial faithful.
“With six, seven seconds left I knew there was a chance for an offensive rebound, so I just wanted to put myself in the right position,” McDonald said. “We really needed this win, and I’m glad we got it at home.”
In addition to his late-game heroics, McDonald would post a team-high 19 points, while junior guard Patricio Garino and junior forward Kevin Larsen added 13 and 11 points, respectively. GW (17-6, 7-3 Atlantic 10) would go 44.7 percent from the field on the night, hitting five of 16 from deep, to secure its 12th straight win at home, 10th this season.
The evenly matched teams fought back and forth all night: Neither was able to secure a double-digit lead the entire game. While the Colonials outshot the Flyers (17-5, 7-3 A-10) from the field and won the battle on the boards 32-29, GW went just 16-25 from the line and committed 14 turnovers to keep Dayton’s high-powered offense in the game.
“It wasn’t quite how we drew it up, but we deserved a break and it was nice to finally get it,” head coach Mike Lonergan said. “Kethan got me a little nervous because he held the ball for some reason… but he finally went to the basket, and luckily there was enough time for the tip-in.”
The Colonials came out strong and jumped to an early 9-2 lead, but Dayton quickly improved its shooting game, embarking on a 14-0 run behind senior guard Jordan Sibert, who would lead the Flyers on the night with 17 points.
The streak would leave the Colonials, who committed eight turnovers in the first half, with a 16-9 deficit midway through the frame. GW, however, maintained its composure defensively while Dayton’s shooting began to cool off.
An 8-0 run of their own would propel the Colonials to a 21-19 lead, and two key steals by McDonald late in the half would give GW a 24-21 lead at halftime, while Dayton would finish the half with nine turnovers. Garino would lead the Colonials with seven points in the first, while junior forward Kevin Larsen added a team-high four rebounds.
The teams continued to trade runs in the second half with bursts of offense. But although GW would go 50 percent from the field and hit four of eight from deep in the second frame, the Flyers’ would force the contest to overtime.
GW opened extra time with a 6-0 run, but the Flyers weren’t giving up that easily. Dayton battled all the way back and would hit a gut-punching three after a defensive breakdown left freshman guard Kyle Davis open in the corner. That put Dayton up 64-63 with 15 seconds remaining in the game before the Colonials headed down court for their game-winning drive.
“We had a breakdown… One of our guys felt that he wanted to go double inside because he thought they were going to score, and so he left his man wide open for what could have been the game-winning three,” Lonergan said. “But we talked about it in the locker room and hopefully we’ll learn from it.
Savage would add nine points and six rebounds on the night, while senior forward John Kopriva also contributed six boards and finished with six points.
“[Each starter] did something positive,” Lonergan said. “They all contributed in different ways. As these juniors go is how our team is going to go, and sometimes you get a win like this and hopefully it will jumpstart our season again.”
While both benches were quiet most of the game, freshmen Paul Jorgensen and Yuta Watanabe would combine for an important seven points on the night.
The Colonials return to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they take on Duquesne in Pittsburgh.
