Men’s basketball (14-9, 3-7 A-10) were handed their sixth straight loss by Loyola Chicago (17-7, 9-2 A-10) in a contentious and injury-filled 73-81 game Saturday.
After ending the first half trailing 8 points behind the Ramblers, the Revs came back in the second and were up by 6 points with 5:10 left on the clock. But the Revs went on to blow the late-game lead, putting them at 12th in the Atlantic 10 as their losing streak chugs further along.
The game was also in front of the home crowd as part of GW Palooza, with the 2024 inductees into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame being honored during the game.
The Revs struggled to connect their shots in the first half, going 10-33 and shooting 30.30 percent from the field. Their poor performance extended to the 3-point line, where they shot just 26.7 percent, hitting only four of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. Senior guard James Bishop IV scored a total of 25 points through the game on six for 19 shooting, three for eight from beyond the arc and 10 for 11 on free throws.
The Ramblers quickly opened the game 6-0 after back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Revs struggled to bounce back. The Ramblers had a successful half from beyond the arc, connecting on seven of their 15 3-point attempts. A 6-2 Ramblers’ run ended the half with a 37-29 score.
“The coaches felt good about our energy in the first half and the defensive effort that was given,” Bishop said. “So his message was just continue that and shots will fall, and offense will get going.”
The Revs fought back in the second half, slightly improving their shooting to go 11-27, good for a 40.74 percent clip. Bishop exploded in the period, scoring 19 points in the half compared to just 6 in the first. It was a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Maximus Edwards, however, that gave GW their first lead of the game, 53-51 with eight minutes left.
GW was forced to close the game without two starters, however, with graduate student center and star-shot-blocker Babatunde Akingbola fouling out with nine minutes left. Redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr., second on the team in points-per-game with 15.5 had to be helped off the court after getting injured at the 14-minute mark. He never returned to the game.
Three free throws from Bishop helped to extend the GW lead to 7 with five minutes left. But two 3-pointers on consecutive Rambler possessions helped them to retake the lead, with an and-one layup from graduate student forward Dame Adelekun putting the Ramblers 1 point ahead with 3:40 remaining.
Bishop answered with a 3-pointer of his own to momentarily take a 70-68 lead. But this would be the Revs’ last time in front with another and-one from Adelekun, giving the Ramblers a 71-70 lead to respond to Bishop’s 3-pointer.
The Ramblers went on a 9-0 run to cement their lead, with graduate student forward Antoine Smith Jr. and Edwards both missing 3-pointers to tie or take the lead.
Head Coach Chris Caputo said despite the sixth consecutive loss, he feels as though his players are improving.
“I’ve never lost six games in a row, it’s a first for me,” Caputo said. “It’s not really about the score right now, it’s really more about how we’re playing and I thought today we were kind of back to the way we played in the first four League games.”
Men’s basketball will travel to Fairfax, Virginia, to take on George Mason at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
