Men’s basketball finished fourth in the 2024 Paradise Jam Tournament after going 2-1 that weekend, moving their record to 6-1 for the season.
After dropping the first game to Kansas State 83-71 on Nov. 22 — their first loss of the season — the Revolutionaries defeated the University of Louisiana at Lafayette 83-74 on Nov. 23. The Revs used a strong second half to beat Illinois State 72-64 on Nov. 25 to secure the fourth-place finish in the annual tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In the loss to Kansas State, sophomore guard Jacoi Hutchinson led the Revs with a career-high 19 points, surpassing his previous record of 18 points, which he had done twice. Redshirt junior forward Rafael Castro and graduate student guard Gerald Drumgoole Jr. scored double-figures, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively. Redshirt sophomore forward Darren Buchanan Jr. struggled in the first game, managing only nine points while playing all 40 minutes in the loss.
The Revs found themselves down early to the Wildcats in the second match, trailing 46-27 at the end of the first half. GW struggled from the floor in the first half, only connecting on 25 percent of their shots as a team. Hutchinson was the only player with double-digit scoring for the Revs in the first, scoring ten points off 50 percent shooting.
At the start of the second half, the Revs started connecting more on their shots. Eventually, they cut their deficit to seven with about nine minutes left in the game. But Kansas State began to find their place and make plays on both ends of the game. The Revs were outmatched in rebounds 42-28, leading to Kansas State breaking away with the lead and the eventual win.
After the loss, the Revs bounced back in their next match with Louisiana Lafayette. Despite trailing in both halves, an 18-1 run in the second half propelled them to a victory.
Buchanan led the team in scoring with 17 points and ten rebounds, going 2-2 from beyond the arc. Castro recorded a double-double, scoring 13 points and bringing down ten rebounds and redshirt junior guard Trey Moss added 13 points.
The game started off as a back-and-forth exchange with five lead changes in the first 5 minutes.
The Revolutionaries then went on an 8-0 run with 9:22 left in the first half to take a 25-13 lead. Drumgoole Jr. sparked the run with his second three-pointer of the game, backed up by a layup and three-pointer from Moss.
The Revs were able to capitalize at the free throw line in the first half, going 14-17 from the line after getting in the bonus with 6:41 to go. Their dominance from the line continued, finishing the game 35-42.
The Ragin’ Cajuns tightened the lead to five, ending the half at 35-30. Junior guard Mostapha El Moutaouakkil led Louisiana Lafayette in scoring with eleven points in the frame and 19 in the game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns got off to a strong start after the break, taking the lead 39-37 off a three-pointer from senior guard Kentrell Garnett less than three minutes into the half.
The Revs improved upon their three-point shooting in the second half, making their first five shots from beyond the arc, with two of the five three-pointers coming from sophomore guard Trey Autry. Autry’s buckets were part of a 13-0 run and an 18-1 extended GW run that rocketed their lead to 61-46 with 12:33 to go.
Autry improved upon his performance against Kansas State earlier in the tournament in which he went 0-4. He finished Saturday’s game against Louisiana Lafayette with 16 points, shooting 3-3 from beyond the arc.
In the final game of the tournament, the Revs used a 45-point second half to defeat the Illinois State Redbirds 72-64.
Drumgoole Jr. and Autry led the way offensively for GW, scoring 16 points a piece. The two went seven of 12 from beyond the arc, contributing to the team shooting 35 percent from three. Buchanan recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, eight of which came on the defensive end.
The Revs started the game slow, shooting eight of 25 from the field and trailing by as many as six. Conversely, the Redbirds went 12 of 26 from the field in the first half and took a 29-27 lead into the break.
The beginning of the second half was more of the same for the Revs. The Redbirds would expand their lead to as many as 13 twice. But the swing came at 9:49 when Autry drilled a three to cut the Redbirds’ lead to single digits.
Drumgoole Jr. fouled while shooting a three-pointer and drained all three free throws at 5:25, cutting the score to 56-54. Just under a minute later, Buchanan Jr. hit a jump shot from the paint to tie the game. Autry and Drumgoole Jr. would hit three three-pointers in the final minutes to close out the win.
The team went 24-30 from the line, with 18 points from the free throw line coming in the final quarter. Hutchinson would drill his final two free throws to increase the lead to eight with 18 seconds to play and move the Revs to 6-1 for the season.
