The shrill tone sounded so frequently in a stretch bridging halftime it was remarkable that every stray dog between Greenfield and Springfield didn’t come barking down the doors of the Mullins Center. One fan implored a referee to “pull your head out,” which was delicate by Hampshire County standards.
Dissatisfaction from an opposing home crowd was a new sound, one that came as GW rode a 29-34 mark from the free throw line all the way to a 81-70 win over UMass, the team’s first road win of the Atlantic 10 season, without senior point guard Joe McDonald.
“I know UMass isn’t a first place team but this is a good win for us,” said head coach Mike Lonergan. “Any road win in college basketball in a conference basketball game is big, especially after we gave that one away at Saint Louis, we had to get our first one for confidence as much as anything.”
Tyler Cavanaugh, once again, led all scorers with 26 points and Kevin Larsen had a game-high eight rebounds to go with 13 points.
“When we go inside good things happen and I thought we did a great job getting to the free throw line and we made our free throws,” Lonergan said.
The game was tied at 38-38 more than two minutes into the second half before the Colonials (14-3, 3-1 A-10) drained a series of three-pointers to take the lead and keep it. GW made 8-of-19 three-point attempts, six of the makes coming after halftime. The Colonials were 12-12 from the free throw line in the first half to keep it close despite ten turnovers and as the UMass (8-8, 1-3 A-10) press took time off each possession.
Patricio Garino broke out of a scoring slump with 17 points, aided by a 3-for-5 night from beyond the arc. Garino, in his fourth year playing with McDonald, said he was driven by a voicemail the point guard left with an assistant coach to play for the team before the game.
“He wanted us to make the first punch first, just be aggressive and take care of the ball. It was hard to hear but it was a nice touch from Joe. You can see his leadership and how much he cares about the team and that definitely motivated us to this win, playing for him,” Garino said.
McDonald did not play due to an eye injury suffered in GW’s win against Duquesne Saturday. Lonergan said that his eye was swollen shut when he went to the emergency room from the game, and that the main issue is getting the swelling down. Lonergan said that he would talk to McDonald’s doctors Wednesday and that the senior would be evaluated further later in the week, but that he was “probably doubtful for Dayton.”
Sophomore Paul Jorgensen started in his place, and got help off the bench from graduate student Alex Mitola. Jorgensen, who Lonergan said got the start for “confidence,” had two points and three assists in 26 minutes while Mitola recorded 11 points in 25 minutes with 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Mitola in particular was fantastic against the Minuteman press, recording seven assists without any turnovers, passing out of traps against much taller players and prompting broadcaster Tom Pecora to cry that Mitola “looks like an altar boy but plays like a Navy SEAL.”
“I’ve never heard a comment like that before,” Mitola said, laughing. “I’ve been heckled and called Justin Bieber before!”
Ball movement was typically critical for GW’s offense, as the Colonials recorded 18 assists on 22 made baskets.
“Coach said to us before the game that he wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to test myself and Paul with our starting point guard being out so we were kind of ready for it,” Mitola said. “But they were controlling the tempo in the first half because of their press. In the second half we did a much better job of handling it, breaking it, getting better shots, getting what we wanted.”
Lonergan said he still wants the team to get better defensively, though he thought the 1-3-1 looked the best it has in several games. The Minutemen still shot 49 percent, but had 15 turnovers, 11 coming in the second half.
It doesn’t get easier from here for the Colonials, who face Dayton on the road on Friday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
