Men’s basketball (14-6, 3-4) defeated Saint Louis (12-8, 5-2) 67-61 to snap a three-game losing skid on Saturday.
After dropping three straight Atlantic-10 games, the Revolutionaries rode a strong first half and thwarted the Billikens’ comeback attempt at the tail end of the game at the Smith Center.
Leading the way offensively for the Revs was redshirt junior forward Rafael Castro, who recorded 21 points on nine of 11 from the field and added nine rebounds, averaging 19.8 points per game over his last 5. Redshirt freshman guard Christian Jones continues to solidify himself as the first-option guard, stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Castro said the growing connection between him and Jones comes from a familiarity with each other’s play styles and working on their game at practice.
“I say that starts in time because me and CJ get a lot of work in and after practice, kind of just working out, the pick and roll, the pace of stuff, and it’s been working out for us,” Castro said.
The Revs got off to a powerful start in the first half, dominating the inside with Castro leading the way early off assists from Jones. The former Providence Friar had eight of the Revs’ first 10 points, using his size and leverage to come down with rebounds and put the ball back up.
At the 9:18 mark, sophomore guard Trey Autry hit a pair of free throws to put the Revs ahead 21-8. The Billikens struggled to find their offensive game for the first 10 minutes of the first half as the Revs’ defensive game plan limited Saint Louis’ ability to get open looks and work in the post. More baskets from Autry, Castro and Jones would send the Revs into the half with a 36-22 lead.
At halftime, GW was winning the rebound battle (22-19), the assist battle (9-2) and the turnover battle (5-2). All five starters had a +/- higher than 10 at the break.
The Revs picked up the second half right where they left off, with graduate student guard Gerald Drumgoole Jr. throwing down a dunk to open the second-frame scoring.
A Castro dunk at the 16:34 mark gave the Revs a 15-point lead, their largest of the game. Saint Louis refused to quit as senior guard Isaiah Swope hit the first team three-pointer in nearly 20 minutes. Another Castro slam would put the Revs ahead with just over four minutes left.
The Billikens managed to slim the lead down to as little as three points on the backs of senior guard Kobe Johnson and some timely makes from junior center Robbie Avila. A missed three-point attempt in the final minute by Swope resulted in free throws by Castro, which iced the game for the Revs.
Head Coach Chris Caputo said postgame that his team’s defensive structure limited Avila, who was Saint Louis’ highly touted transfer after spending last season at Indiana State.
“I would just say it’s sort of similar to what we’ve done, people trying to give them different books throughout the game, not the same steady diet,” Caputo said. “We are a switching team, a traffic team and a pressing team. We’re not like a ‘do what we do defense,’ but we are, in some ways, in terms of the base. And you can build out that, build out some schemes from the base.”
Caputo said this victory is a step toward the team’s end-of-season goal of finishing at the top of the A-10.
“We’re amongst the best teams in the league,” Caputo said. I believe that.”
The Revs finish out their home stand when they host the University of Richmond Spiders on Wednesday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.