PITTSBURGH, Pa. — After shooting just 31.8 percent from behind the arc over its past four contests, men’s basketball rode its deep shooting ability all the way to victory Sunday afternoon.
The Colonials made two fewer baskets on one more attempt while outrebounding the Dukes by only three boards, but were able to sink 12-of-26 distance shots compared to only four from their opposition.
GW (14-13, 6-8 A-10) needed each one of its 12 three-pointers during its 77–70 victory over Duquesne (10-17, 3-11) on the road. The win was the Colonials second road win during Atlantic 10 play and fourth all season.
“It’s never easy to get a road win. I don’t care what their standing is – it’s hard to get a road win in this league,” interim head coach Maurice Joseph said. “That’s a good win against a good team so we’re very excited about they way we executed offensively.”
Graduate student forward Tyler Cavanaugh led the Colonials in scoring on the night with 19 points despite going just 2-for-8 from the field and adding only four points in the second half. His contribution came largely from the line, where he went 13-for-14, leading the game in both free-throw attempts and makes.
“I didn’t finish a few [shots] but I was lucky to go to the line and convert,” Cavanaugh said. “That’s what you’ve got to do when the ball’s not going in, just try to get yourself to the line as a scorer and I think I did that today.”
[gwh_image id=”1025769″ credit=”Ethan Stoler | Hatchet Photographer” align=”left” size=”1025769″]Graduate student forward Tyler Cavanaugh led GW with 19 points and seven rebounds Sunday.[/gwh_image]
Despite Cavanaugh’s consistency from the charity stripe, it was not a one-sided affair. Duquesne finished with a stellar 16-for-17 clip from the line and boasted four players who did not miss any attempts.
GW was able to gain a slight advantage on the offensive boards, where 16 rebounds turned into 20 second-chance points, including several key shots down the stretch.
Junior guard Yuta Watanabe (14p), graduate student forward Patrick Steeves (11p) and freshman guard Jair Bolden (11p) also contributed double-digit scoring totals. Bolden remained the primary point guard as he anchored a second-half team that turned the ball over only three times and picked up four steals.
“We want to trust the freshman point guard to have the ball in his hands,” Joseph said. “We talk all the time about ball security and some of the things that we run, and he’s done a great job of getting better in that regard, playing with more poise and more patience.”
After being held to only five first-half points, Duquesne guard Mike Lewis II found his rhythm in the second half, finishing with 22 points including three of his team’s four three-pointers.
“[Lewis II] is a hell of a player,” Joseph said. “We tried a couple of different things and for a second there it was WWF amongst our coaching. We didn’t know what the heck to do so we were going at each other a little bit trying to figure it out, in a good way obviously, but he’s the kind of player that makes you second guess your plan.”
Early on in the game both sides traded baskets, shooting at high rates from the field. After the Dukes led 4–0, the Colonials tied the game up three times before taking a 13–10 lead just over five minutes into play.
[gwh_image id=”1025770″ credit=”Ethan Stoler | Hatchet Photographer” align=”right” size=”1025770″]Graduate student forward Patrick Steeves earned his third start of the season at Duquesne, and finished with 11 points and five boards.[/gwh_image]
Watanabe provided GW with much of its offense during the opening minutes. He made four of his first five shots and scored nine of the Colonials’ first 15 points.
The pace of the game slowed as shooting percentages on both sides dropped significantly. After trailing by one or two points for several minutes, Duquesne recaptured the advantage, 21-20.
After a 5-0 run by GW, including a three-pointer from Cavanaugh, the Colonials remained ahead from the rest of the half and went into the locker room at halftime with a narrow 38–33 edge.
The second half started with a jolt of energy from both teams. A three from Bolden got GW going before the game was knotted up at 41 by Duquesne senior forward Darius Lewis’ layup.
The Colonials picked up five fouls in the opening six minutes of the frame, including the first three calls on Cavanaugh. Despite multiple defensive blunders, GW relied on a couple of timely hoops from Steeves to even the game up at 47.
The Dukes grabbed a short-lived two-point lead before turning the ball over, missing a wide-open dunk and allowing redshirt senior guard Matt Hart (6p) and Bolden to combine for four baskets from behind the arc, giving the Colonials a seven-point margin with seven minutes to play.
GW found its largest lead of the night after free throws from Cavanaugh made it a 65–55 game. That did not sit well with Duquesne on their home floor. The Dukes went on a 10-3 run inspired by Lewis II’s tenacity before being quieted down by a top-of-the-key three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Roland (3p).
The Colonials return home on Thursday for the first game of a two-game homestand. They host Massachusetts at the Smith Center for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
