Updated: Dec. 11, 2016 at 1:34 p.m.
Men’s basketball came into the weekend as the 13th ranked team in both scoring offense and field-goal percentage in the Atlantic 10, putting up an average of just 68.7 points per game.
The Colonials (7-4) looked like a different team Saturday afternoon against Howard (1-7) as they shot 23-for-51 from the floor and defeated the Bison 79–62 behind a season-high scoring total.
“When we are aggressive, when we are moving the ball, sharing it and taking good shots we can be really good,” interim head coach Maurice Joseph said. “We can be a good shooting team, better than we’ve shown thus far in the season.”
Redshirt junior point guard Jaren Sina led the way for GW with 20 points and 5 assists, playing 30 minutes. He went 5-for-12 from the floor, with all of his made baskets coming from behind the three-point line.
“After just making a couple I was definitely feeling it a little bit,” Sina said. “The biggest thing is that the guys just got me the ball at the right spots and I just knocked some down.”
Graduate student forward Tyler Cavanaugh also imposed his will during the matchup. He finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists on the night, recording his fourth double-double of the season.
Although Howard grabbed two more offensive boards than the Colonials, GW was able to outrebound the Bison 41-31. They are now 7-2 on the season when holding the advantage on the glass.
For the second consecutive game, GW also dished out a season-high assist total. As a team, they combined for 20 dimes on 23 made baskets.
Joseph was impressed by his team’s willingness to share the ball.
“That is coming with film, that is understanding good versus great shots, that is making sure that we are working the ball inside-out,” Joseph said. “The fact that we had 20 assists on 23 field goals was pretty remarkable and I am happy about that stat.”
GW found its momentum early, sinking 9-of-14 three pointers in the first half, spreading out the offense and working around the Bison’s aggressive 2-3 zone defense. The Colonials finished shooting 50 percent from distance and with a season-high 13 threes in the offensive barrage.
They rushed out to a 10-point lead in the first six minutes after Cavanaugh, Sina and sophomore guard Jordan Roland connected on deep shots.
However, the Colonials’ defense was not the reason they were ahead in the first half, allowing the Bison to shoot 46.2 percent from the floor.
“I was disappointed with a flat start in our zone,” Joseph said. “I don’t know if that is the youth of our team or playing the opponent and the injuries, I’m not sure what that was about.”
Despite the defensive woes, GW went into halftime with a 43–34 lead after controlling the pace for the entire game up to then.
Out of the break, the Colonials were unable to score for the opening three minutes. After a jumper from Roland, the momentum shifted entirely in GW’s favor. They went on a 10-0 run capped off by free throws from freshman forward Kevin Marfo.
The game never returned to a single-digit margin as the GW defense was getting consistent stops after switching to a man-to-man set. They held the Bison to 23.5 shooting in the second half including 11.1 percent shooting from behind the arc.
“When we went man, we did pick up our intensity a little bit,” Joseph said. “There was improvement there, I’m just disappointed that we had to rev them up at halftime to do what was needed to do.”
Howard freshman guard Charles Williams attempted to lead his team to a comeback. He scored 27 points on the night after a 20-point second half. Williams shot 11-for-13 from the free throw line and appeared to be one of his team’s few aggressors offensively.
Down the stretch Joseph was able to sub in his entire healthy lineup as the game was all but official in the final few minutes. Freshman guard Adam Mitola scored his first basket in a GW uniform after sinking a three-pointer Saturday.
The Colonials will return to the Smith Center on Thursday where they will play host to UCF. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The team has now played six games without junior guard Yuta Watanabe and four without graduate student Patrick Steeves. The two remained inactive against Howard due to injury.
