Men’s basketball overcame a nine-point halftime deficit Saturday afternoon to capture an 86–80 exhibition victory over Bowie State.

Junior guard Yuta Watanabe led GW with 19 points – all of which came in the second-half – while graduate student forward Tyler Cavanaugh added 18 and a game-high 13 rebounds in the six-point win.

The margin of victory against the Division-II opponent may not have been as large as Colonials fans had hoped, but interim head coach Maurice Joseph thought the tight battle was a good early test for his team.

“I love the fact that we got hit and that we were forced to figure out how we were going to respond,” Joseph said. “We have a young team and a lot of young guys we have never played before who we’re going to have to rely on for us to be good and this was a great first example of what happens when you come out flat.”

In their first game back at the Smith Center since March, the Colonials jumped to an eight-point lead behind strong shooting from its seasoned core.

Cavanaugh went 2-for-3 from three-point range early in the first half, while another triple from graduate student Patrick Steeves handed GW a 19-11 lead.

However, a spate of turnovers and an inability to make stops quickly stunted that momentum.

GW gave the ball up 10 times in the opening frame, to Bowie State’s four. Seven different Colonials committed at least one of those ten, while redshirt junior point guard Jaren Sina finished the day with four, a game-high, and just three assists.

“[We were] lackadaisical,” Cavanaugh said. “I had a couple where I just tried to toss the ball to Jaren and we weren’t focused and we weren’t in it. I thought we came out strong, got a little seven-point lead and we relaxed. So we just have to keep getting better, keep improving and we’ll be fine.”

The giveaways gave new life to a Bulldogs offense that went 59 percent from the field in the first half to GW’s 38. A 14-0 run propelled the visitors to an eventual 42-30 advantage – their largest of the game – with 2:37 to play before halftime.

Cavanaugh led his team with 12 points and five rebounds in the half, but defensive deficiencies and 13 first-half points from Bowie State’s top-scorer Enuoma Ebinum (20p) allowed the Bulldogs to take a 44-35 edge into the break.

“[Ebinum] was tremendous, their whole team did a great job but we’ve got to do a better job defensively,” Joseph said. “I wouldn’t say I’m happy about our defensive showing but again, it’s early, we’ve got a lot of work to do but I think we’ll bite down, get to work and correct some things.”

Freshman center Collin Smith, who started alongside Cavanaugh, Watanabe, Sina and redshirt junior guard Matt Hart on Saturday, opened the second half with two quick buckets to spark a crucial 17-2 GW run.

The Colonials also limited their turnover total to just three in the frame, and clamped down defensively to hold Bowie State to a more manageable 43 percent clip from the field to GW’s 44.

Smith would go on to finish with 16 points on the day, and combine with Watanabe for 33 second-half points, to lead all freshmen scorers.

“It was a good first showing for [Smith]. He’s a talented kid,” Joseph said. “He’s long, athletic, has a rim-protecting aspect that we haven’t really had since Isaiah Armwood…But again, him as well as the rest of our freshmen who saw the court today just need to continue to get better.” 

GW’s failure to capitalize at the free throw line, however, hindered its ability to put the game way.

Despite drawing 46 total trips to the charity stripe, the Colonials only collected 29 points – going a disappointing 63 percent from the area. Last season, GW’s free-throw percentage (75.3) was 16th-best in the nation.

Ultimately, the Colonials were able to get it done down the stretch and avoid joining VCU and Duquesne as the third Atlantic 10 team to lose an exhibition this fall.

GW will play its regular-season opener at home on Nov. 11 against Maryland Eastern-Shore.

“It’s great to be back in front of our fans, get the feeling of a real game – I mean, we’re a young team so each opportunity we have to step out there is important,” Cavanaugh said. “We came out flat and they were ready to go…They punched us in the mouth but I think we responded well.”